Beyond the Iris
by Calamitynexus
Summary: A goa'uld makes it on to Earth, forcing SG-1 to track him to Egypt. But catching the snake is only going to be the beginning of the team's problem. Rated Mature for gore an language.
1. Chapter 1

AN-Yes, I know. I've started another story. I find the more I have on the go the more likely I am to work on at least one of them at any given time. This is a Yu-Gi-Oh Stargate SG1 crossover. I read a few and really liked the idea of those universes colliding. Just a warning, I watched up to the middle of both series and never saw how either one ended. Okay, I lied. I saw the last 2 eps of Yu-Gi-Oh and thought it was dumb so I blotted it out.

Anyway, this story is going to focus more on the Stargate side of things, so if you are expecting magic be prepared for disappointment. Life is full of it. It takes place after the end of Yu-Gi-Oh, which has been altered to better serve my needs, and somewhere in the middle of Stargate because I only own 2 seasons and I stopped watching the show after Jack retired. No MacGyver, no Calamity love.

I may or may not throw in stuff from Stargate Atlantis. I'm being rather arbitrary about the Stargate timeline thingy. After all it's a fan fic.

 WARNING It will be shonen ai. That means non-explicit boy love. Things like kissing and sounding mushy. If you don't like that sort of thing then don't read it. You've been warned.

So here it is. I hope you enjoy. And if you don't well I enjoy writing it, so I'm still winning.

So I apologize to everyone whose language I am about to butcher. Except for the English. It has been mangled enough that there is nothing I could do to it that has not been done.

***

Jack stared hard at his enemy, watching for any sign of movement, any sign of weakness. His opponent watched back, his eyes unwavering, unblinking in case that he too missed a movement. They stared at each other in escalating silence. Finally a battle cry was raised.

"Call."

His opponent nodded in his direction, pleased with his choice. Jack tapped his cards anxiously, waiting.

Samantha Carter flipped the river revealing a Queen.

Jack threw down his hand, showing his pocket aces to the world, hoping that they would be enough to win the round.

Teal'c laid down his hand with a delicate arch of an eyebrow. "It appears that I have three of a kind O'Neill."

"Dammit!" Jack tossed his hand across the table.

"It was a good try sir," Carter smiled encouragingly. She swept her blond her behind an ear before picking up the cards to shuffle.

"Stuff it Carter." Jack was feeling sore, not to mention broke, after loosing his god knows how many hand to his alien friend. The stoic Jaffa never gave any indication of his hand. "Who the hell decided to teach Teal'c poker?"

"That would be me, Jack." Jacob Carter, now the host of the Tok'ra Selmak, sat down with a cheery grin. Despite being on base, he was still wearing his Tok'ra garb, the drab gray assemble doing little for his complexion.

"This is just revenge for the last time I cleaned you out."

"Yes it is." Jacob leaned back in his chair in the mess hall. "And it's working too. Life is wonderful."

Sam smiled as she watched the Colonel mutter darkly under his breath at her father. Sometimes he acted just like a little kid. Scratch that. Most of the time he acted just like a little kid. It was hard to believe that he was involved in the top secret Stargate program. Then again, the program itself was unbelievable.

"Did you just call me an old boot?" Jacob sounded more amused than insulted.

Jack leaned forward, reading another insult when a siren filled the base with a screechy whine.

"This is General Hammond." The PA blared the Texan's serious voice. "Initiate full base lock down. All visitors are to report to their quarters and await further instruction. SG1 is to report to briefing room. I repeat. All visitors are to report to their quarters and await further instruction. SG1 is to report to briefing room immediately."

Jack and Teal'c were out of their chairs and through the door before the message ended, leaving their cards and poker chips strewn everywhere. Sam shook her head and dropped the cards, racing to catch up with the boys.

***

"Sir," Jack skipped the salute, figuring that this was not a time for niceties. General Hammond paced across the floor, his bald head glistening with sweat. "World about to end again sir?" Things like that were about the only emergencies that could cause the old general to break his composure.

"Sit down, Colonel." Hammond didn't even turn his way, continuing his pacing until both Sam and Teal'c had entered the room. Jacob hovered in the doorway, unsure of his welcome. Spotting him Hammond nodded. "You'd best be here too Jacob. Selmak might be needed on this one."

"Yes Sir." Jacob slipped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"All right team," Hammond finally quit his pacing, turning to look his men head on. "We have a breach. A Goa'uld has made it to the surface."

Predictably Jack interrupted. "A Goa'uld sir? If you don't mind me asking how the hell did a Goa'uld make it on base? I thought we _didn't_ like their kind here."

"Perhaps Selmak can explain." Hammond turned to Jacob, anger radiating off of his person like heat from the sun.

Jacob blinked in surprise and raised his hand in defense. "We have no idea what you are talking about."

"No? One of your men attacked one of mine. The host you people claim to have such a good relationship with was found dead and one of my officers is injured and another has disappeared."

Jacob leaned forward, his distress obvious. Selmak took over. "I have no idea how this happened General. I assure you that my people and I were unaware of a hostile in our midst. We will provide you with whatever aid you require."

Hammond nodded, appearing satisfied with Tok'Ra's response. "First we'll need to you and your people to return home. I cannot risk this incident occurring again." Jacob bowed his head respectfully. "All right." Hammond nodded, but looked ill at ease. "We'll also need to figure out what this thing is after, track it down and prevent it from doing any more damage. SG-1, that will be your job. Any questions?"

Jack half raised his hand. "Just one." He glanced around the room. "Where's Daniel?"

***

Daniel hissed as he shifted the ice pack Dr. Frasier had handed him as the machines of the infirmary beeped and whirred all around him. Daniel shifted on the bed he had been forced upon. Despite her medical care he could still feel the goose eggs rising from his skull. Though in retrospective it could have been worse.

"I told you that knowledge kills." Jack wandered in, grinning from ear to ear.

"Colonel O'Neill, it was not information that caused the damage to Dr. Jackson but rather the weight of a storage unit."

"I know Teal'c," Jack swung around, exasperated. "It was a joke."

"Ah." The Jaffa lapsed into silence, being content to not understand Earth's strange brand of humor.

"Jeez Daniel," Sam at least had the good graces to look worried. "What happened?"

"I don't know." The archeologist pushed up his glasses, which now sat at odd angles on his face, the arms flying in odd directions. "We were in my office and Apep was reading one of my archeologist digests. The next thing I know he's panicking and I'm pinned under my bookcase."

"It is likely that one of the articles in the digest upset him."

"Do you know which one of your books the bastard was reading?" Jack crossed his arms, trying his darndest to appear thoughtful.

Daniel shook his head, wincing as the world swum a bit. "It was my newest one. I don't what the articles say because I hadn't had a chance to read it. He took it with him when he left."

"Well Daniel, do you know what the focus of the issue was?" Sam stared at the doctor, her mind racing. "It might give us a clue as to where he is headed."

Daniel thought hard, trying to remember what the title had been, what images had floated on its cover. When he finally recalled he leaned back, his shoulders slumping. "It was about Egypt."

Jack sighed. "Of course it was." It was _always_ about Egypt.

***

The young man sat in his excavation hole, steadily sweeping at the sand with his delicate brush. Eventually he sighed, placing the tool back in its pouch on a vest that was far too bulky for his boyish figure. He stood with a groan as his muscles berated him for sitting in such a cramped position for so long. Dainty, save for a stumble or two, he stepped out of the dig site and made his way towards the large tent on the other side of the camp.

As he tripped for yet a third time, the only thing that prevented gravity from catching him was the firm hands of the woman who had watched his progress with a disapproving eye. "My Lord Pharaoh," her voice was heavy with a frown despite her face remaining smooth, "you have pushed yourself too hard to day."

Yugi turned to meet her desert gaze, with skin as dusky as the sand and eyes as blue as the sky, before turning his head down towards his feet. "I am fine Isis-san. I just need some water." He flashed her what would have been a brilliant smile had his naturally pale skin not been pinched and sallow.

Isis felt her grip tighten in growing alarm. The boy hadn't even protested her use of the title. She cursed herself for not paying more attention. "No. You are not used to the heat."

"I am fine!" Yugi pulled out of her grip. Or he tried to. Instead all he managed was to trip again, highlighting Isis's point.

"My Lord Pharaoh, you have only been with us for a month. There is no shame in feeling unwell in such a harsh climate. Now," she spoke the word sharply, cutting him off as he opened his mouth to protest again, "if you do not go lie down I will send you home. Now come."

Yugi lapsed into silence and allowed himself to be dragged through the camp like the child he still looked to be. Isis bit her tongue to hide yet another frown. Sullen was never a word that she would have thought to associate with boy in tow yet now she lacked any other term to describe his dull demeanor. She pushed him into his tent, setting herself outside the door to make sure he did not do anything so foolish as to attempt to escape.

It took only a few minutes before the gentle sounds of sleep could be heard from the tent, a sound that eased her heart more than the extraordinary success they had been having with the dig. Not one of the artifacts they had uncovered meant more to her than sleeping boy in the tent behind her.

She waited a few minutes longer, making sure that no sound would rouse the boy, before unleashing her anger at the shade only she could see.

"You are supposed to watch out for him, not watch as he works himself to death," her breath escaped as a hiss, a snake readying to deliver venom.

"He's been difficult." Yami knew it was a poor excuse but it was the only explanation that he could offer to calm Isis's rage. "It's been difficult for him."

"Which is why you are supposed to watch out for him." She turned her head, meeting the crimson eyes of the king of old. "When was the last time he ate?"

Isis caught Yami's fidget and cursed the spirit under her breath. "It's difficult Isis. I don't need to eat. I don't need to sleep. I have not needed these things for thousands of years. Therefore I don't notice when Yugi has failed to do these things."

He had a point. Se clasped her hands, feeling her brows knit with worry. "My Lord Pharaoh, what am I to do? I cannot save him from himself."

"Don't." She turned, surprised by the command. "Let the boy run himself until he collapses."

She could see the smile tugging at the edges of the ghost's lips. She knew that look and she knew that he only every revealed it when his victory was inevitable. "What do you have planned?"

The tugging gave way to a conniving grin. "Kaiba promised his wife that if anything happened to Yugi they would be there to take care of him."

"Ah." Isis leaned back, feeling some of her worry evaporate. If Yugi fell in Anzu's clutches she wouldn't let the boy so much as stir until she deemed him fit to do so. Perhaps the energetic girl would be the cure for Yugi's current melancholy and help bring out some more of his old self. She looked back to the spirit. Yami looked lost in thought. Dark, unpleasant thought. Isis closed her eyes and suppressed a shudder, listening to the delicate breaths through the thin canopy of the shelter.

Then again, perhaps not.

***

He watched his prey as it staggered through the alley, its primitive garb disheveled. The outfit was a suit, similar to those people of importance wore around the pathetic cave that the humans called a base. From the mind of its host Apep pulled information, noting how the behavior of the man revealed inebriation, the garb revealed importance and affluence, the dark alley providing opportunity.

As the man stumbled by he was pulled into the shadows without a cry, the only sound the dull echo as the drunk hit the wall of the building with enough force to stun him. He felt the warm lips against his, felt the wet object intruding upon his mouth. In his hazy state he first thought this stranger was slipping him the tongue.

Then the pain began.

The business struggled, or tried to, his body convulsing as his nervous system slowly slipped out of his control.

Then he stood, shoving off the corpse of the young guard.

Eyes flashed gold in the darkness.

***

"Anything?"

"Well, I've been looking at this one and there have been some amazing discoveries made in the past six months. For example, look at this article about Saqqara. They just found the first perfectly preserved mummy! It's 2600 years old! Simply amazing!"

"Daniel." Jack placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, trying to keep him on track. "I only care about what the Goa'uld cares about."

"I was just getting to that." Daniel started madly flipping pages, explaining as he went. "This is the mostly likely dig site for him to visit. A woman by the name of Isis Ishtar has been working in the region about a month, and they are still digging new things up every day. Not that it's actually surprising. Apparently Isis has yet to be on an expedition that has turned up nothing. Which is strange because she hasn't published any works on ancient Egypt and with the sheer volume of artifacts that she has found it would not be difficult for her to gain recognition in the academic community."

"And I care because?" Jack rubbed his temples, trying to chase away the headache from the whining of the plane engines and Daniel's scientific mumbo-jumbo.

"Yes Daniel, please get to the point," Sam urged her friend, her face pinched with worry. It was difficult for her to know that a symbiote had forcibly taken one of their own a host. She knew how badly she had suffered as a host and that was for a Tok'ra. The man they were chasing was possessed by a Goa'uld. Her pain was likely nothing compared to his.

"The point is this." Daniel held up a photo of the found relics. On one page an Egyptian woman and her dig crew stood silently, smiling victoriously over the pock marked earth. On the other was a golden relic, recognizable despite being covered in dust.

"That's a-"

"Goa'uld hand device," Daniel finished for Sam. "It looks as though Miss Ishtar somehow stumbled across the remains of Goa'uld technology. Who knows what else it is they have found?"

"I'm betting the Goa'uld does."

"Indeed O'Neill, that would seem likely." Jack sighed. They really needed to teach Teal'c more about being flippant. Well, they had a plane ride. It seemed as good a place as any to start.

***

/Yugi./

"In a minute," he murmured aloud to the unspoken whisper. The boy fiddled with his cactus, moving it out of the shade so it could get more light. He liked Egypt, he really did, but somehow the forlorn landscape bereft of plant life always made him a little sad. Yugi loved plants. Staring across the desolate landscape a familiar thought raced through his mind. *I should have been a botanist.*

He could hear Yami chuckle in his mind. He looked to his left and saw the spirit standing, leaning against the canopy of a tent that wouldn't be able to bear the weight of a real person. Despite his laughter Yami's smile quickly vanished as he stared at his Hikari with his usual somber expression.

/Yugi, we need to talk,/ the voice rang again in his head, the projection of Yami not even moving its lips. Yugi sighed and braced himself for the barrage headed his way.

/Isis is worried about you./

*Tell her I am fine.*

/Aibou./ There was a pause. Yami looked at Yugi, the boy's already petit form even slighter due to malnutrition and neglect. "I am also worried about you."

Yugi sighed again and sat in the sand, placing his head between his knees.

"Yugi?" Yami was beside him, his phantom fingers resting delicately on Yugi's shoulders. Yugi couldn't see the touch but he could feel it, a phenomena that neither of them were able to explain but seemed to be increasing in strength as time grew on. A few years ago Yugi had barely been able to feel Yami. Now the spirit could exert enough force to make the boy move.

"I know Yami. I am sorry to worry you. I just..." Yugi trailed off his head sinking further into his knees.

"You just what, Aibou?" Yami lowered his voice, making it as soft as he could, trying to calm Yugi down. He could feel how the boy's heart raced; feel the slight tremor that shook his small frame.

*I just don't know what to do.* He lifted his head, moving so that his chin rested on his knees. *Yami, I have seen horrible things. We've done horrible things.*

"Yugi-"

*Just listen. I know why we did them. It was necessary. We did save the world,* Yami watched as his friend grinned wryly, the jaded expression at odds with his disarming appearance. *But I don't know what to do now. Egypt,* he stared across the glowing landscape, the sand shining by command of the sun, *Egypt has too many memories. For both of us.* Yugi didn't need Yami nod of ascent to know he was right. * And home… home just isn't an option.*

/Yugi you know Jonouchi would always let you go back. He's waiting for you to come back./

* I know Yami, I know.* Yugi buried his face back into his knees, hoping that Yami wouldn't see the tears that pricked at the edge of his vision. The spirit could feel them, he could always feel when Yugi was crying, but he didn't mention it. Let Yugi have his privacy. * I know Grandpa died a long time ago. I know. And I can handle that part. I can.* Another shudder tore through the boy. *I just… I don't want to be there. Let Jonouchi have it. He likes selling games and he likes the attention he gets from the children. Besides,* Yugi chuckled bitterly, * I don't think I could live in Japan. Every game fanatic would be looking to beat me one way or another and none of them would believe that I do not do that anymore.* Yugi lifted his head once more, staring Yami hard in the eyes. * I just do not know where I should be Yami. I just do not fit anywhere anymore.*

"Oh Aibou," Yami gathered Yugi into his arms, rocking the boy gently. "We'll find a place for us." He kissed the boy on the forehead and rubbed Yugi's wild hair. "You are young yet, and we have time."

"Yes," Yugi leaned farther into Yami's chest, "you are right Yami."

/Of course I am Aibou. Now how about a game?/

Yugi giggled and rolled his eye. He may have given up playing everything that came his way but Yami had not. "Fine," he huffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. *But no killing people,* he added silently.

/Hush. I would never do such a thing to my Aibou./ Yami sounded like a scolding mother. /Here are the rules. We will continue on the dig with Isis until our contract is up. If you can make it the three weeks without ruining your health we will go on vacation, traveling to anyplace in the world where you would like to go./

Yugi's eyes widened. He and Yami had been batting around the idea of travel but Yugi had never thought it very serious. After high school graduation he had not been in a position to travel, what with the death of his grandfather, and when he finally completed his masters Isis had been on his doorstep with a job offer. Yugi had accepted it immediately, feeling as though having his degree and not using it would have been wasteful. Yami had cautioned that it might have been too soon to go back to work, but Yugi had just needed to not be in Japan.

He narrowed his violet eyes while he considered Yami's proposal, looking for what the spirit didn't say. *What is the catch?* With Yami there was always a catch, even for his dear Aibou.

/If you faint or collapse on the job sight we get to go where I want to go./

*And where do you wish to travel?*

/Antarctica./ Yugi shuddered. He knew Yami had this fascination with things like ice and snow. So far the spirit had yet to see it in any form other than picture. But somehow Yugi doubted Yami's fascination would continue when he discovered what -40 actually felt like. Yugi had seen snow once when his Grandfather had taken him to a new exhibit in northern Japan, one of Solomon's old friends showcasing his newest discovery. Yugi had been too young to remember much, but he remembered snow. And he remembered the cold. He hated the cold.

"Fine," Yugi murmured. Yami smirked at his Aibou's voice, knowing that his threat had cut deep enough to actually make a difference in Yugi's behavior. The smile evaporated as Yugi stood, leaving the spirit alone in the dirt. "Fine. I'm going to go grab some food. You can go tell Isis that I will not work myself to death. Oh I know you guys planned this," Yami sighed. Having glowing red eyes made it hard to look innocent.

Yugi started to walk off, dust rising about him. He turned and shot Yami one last look.

*Thank you, friend.*

Oh yeah, disclaimer- I own nothing. Now you know.


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel stepped out for the Jeep, stretching his arms wide as though trying to hug the desert sun. Inhaling deeply he bounced on his feet, staring across the excavation site with the glee of a child, bouncing on the heel of his boots. "This place is amazing! Look! Look over there! It looks as though they found some ceremonial urns. And over there they discovered some jewelry! That looks like a headpiece but I've never seen the design before! This stuff is ancient! This may in fact be the discovery of the oldest relics yet! This is amazing!"

"Daniel. Focus. Remember why we're here." Jack tumbled out of the Jeep. He inhaled the desert air and promptly started coughing. "Really Daniel, I don't know what you saw in this place."

"I agree with O'Neill. The landscape appears formidable."

"Sir, where should we start?" Sam glanced around. The excavation site was huge, with trucks and supplies constantly coming and going. Small tents dotted the landscape, fluttering in a light breeze. People milled about everywhere. From a tactical stance this place was wide open. There was no apparent security and it seemed as though the dig teams where operating separate from each other. There didn't seem to be anyone in charge.

Jack stared at the site, looking completely out of his element. He turned to the archeologist at his side. "Daniel, this is your show. Make stuff happen."

"Jack you know that is not the way this works. I can't just magically wave my hands and have everything we need," snapped Daniel, demonstrating the gesture.

"Excuse me but are you lost?" The team looked down. A slight teenager with outrageous hair, a dark red that was almost purple, styled in short spikes with long blonde bangs, stared up at the group with wide violet eyes. He was dressed as the dig teams were, and the shape of his eyes betrayed his Asian descent.

"Actually yes," Daniel shifted uncomfortably, "We are looking for whoever is in charge. It is important that we speak to them immediately."

The boy gave a quick bow, his hair dancing wildly with the movement. "You are looking for Isis-san. If you would like I can show you to her."

"Thanks kid." Jack turned to Daniel. "You were saying?" He took off after the child before Daniel came up with a response.

"Sir," Sam whispered in Jack's ear the moment she had caught up with him, "isn't he a little young to be working a dig site?"

"It's fine, Carter. Besides we have more important things to be doing than worrying about who they have playing in the dirt here. Head in the game, Carter."

"Yes sir," she fell back a bit, biting her lip to keep her from saying more.

Teal'c looked around with an eyebrow raised as Daniel started rattling off facts about the various items and people they passed. "Oh! See that! Those daggers were likely used for the mummification process! That slab over there could have been the table they used! Look, over there! It's the remains of a pillar, and judging from the craftsmanship-" Teal'c heaved an internal sigh, resign himself to be the victim of Daniel's prattle.

"So what brings you to the desert? Obviously you are not here for the excavation."

"What makes you so sure?" Sam leaned in a bit, eager to catch her small guide's response.

The boy turned, a sparkle in his amethyst eyes. "Excavators do not wear guns." Then he turned and bounded off before any of them could respond, waving at two approaching figures. One was a woman dressed in a simple white gown complete with a headpiece. The outfit was decorated with gold embroidery along the neckline and the belt line. An eye rested on the brow of the headpiece, giving the eerie impression that she was always watching. The other figure…

"Sir, did you see that?!" Sam stopped in her tracks.

"See what, Carter?" Jack turned to the confused expression of his subordinate.

She blinked, hard, and looked again. "I'm sure I saw…" She shook her head as the lone woman approached, their guide still frantically waiting. "Sorry sir… must have been a trick of the light."

"Head in the game, Carter."

"Yes sir." Still, she kept a close eye, looking for things unseen.

"Isis-san, Isis-san," the boy bounced up to the woman, stopping just short of running into her.

She murmured something in Egyptian and rubbed his head. Then she frowned, muttering in a disapproving tone. The boy opened his eyes wide, slipping into Japanese as he responded. The woman, Isis, sighed and pushed away the boy who bowed and danced off again, headed for one of the tents. She fondly watched the boy disappear before turning to her guests.

"Forgive his abrupt departure. Mr. Mutou is easily preoccupied." She bowed her head low, speaking in a sultry voice. "I am Isis Ishtar, leader of this expedition. What is it that brings you to the desert?"

Jack stepped forward, cutting off a vibrating Daniel. "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, this I Major Carter," she gave a slight wave at her introduction, "Daniel Jackson," who was too busy gawking to even realize he was being introduced, "and Murray," Teal'c lowered his chin in greeting.

No emotion crossed Isis's face as introductions were made. Her poker face would have given Teal'c a run for his money. "You have not answered my questions. Why are you here?"

Jack shuffled, trying to make eye contact with Daniel, who was still ogling the work being done. Jack sighed. He hated explanations.

***

/Yugi, who were those people?/

*They were Americans.*

/Like Bandit Keith?/

*Yes.*

/Is it wise to leave them with Isis?/

*I'm sure she'll be fine. But if you are concerned you could watch her. I'm sure I can manage to get a meal without getting myself killed.* Yugi could feel Yami's worry, the spirit hiding himself with in the puzzle.

/Do not joke about such things Aibou,/ Yugi could feel Yami's frown through their bond. /But I will watch Isis. I am curious about your Americans./ And with that Yugi felt Yami move, the distance increasing a pressure in Yugi's chest. It was uncomfortable but not painful. The distance that Yami could travel had been increasing over the years but being apart always made Yugi feel a little uneasy. Perhaps he had just grown too use to having someone else living in his head.

***

He had approached the encampment with ease, walking through the camp in his newest host, a local inhabitant of this area he had picked up in the airport. He liked his newest form. It was strong yet the frame was compact enough as to not draw attention. It knew much about the local inhabitants customs, making it easy to move with relative stealth. It blended into the excavation site with little effort.

***

Isis stared at the strangers, the American soldiers, her suspicions towards them rising. They came with a tale of plague that threatened her campsite. Some American experiment that had gone awry and landed in the hands of the enemy. Apparently they had received intelligence that whoever was responsible was going to unleash here as a testing ground.

They were lying. That much was obvious. The plague story was flimsy and poorly rehearsed, the men obviously covering the wholes in each other's versions to try and patchwork a ragtag tale.

But they were also worried. It did not seem to be the nervousness of petty crooks. These people seemed use to violence, and as Yami had pointed out, all of them carried concealed weapons with ease. He stood behind them, watching for sign of hostility. So far there had been none. Though their story was false perhaps there was truth behind it. They certainly walked with the air of soldiers.

At least most of them.

"So you see that's why it's important that you, uh, leave." Daniel pointed behind him to their Jeep.

"I understand." Isis bowed her head, deep in thought. "Will you allow us to move our discoveries as well?"

O'Neill huffed, bouncing from side to side. He could tell from the way she was standing that there was going to be a fight over this. "Fine." He snapped. "But make sure you're quick about it. We don't have all day." Instead of relaxing the woman's shoulders stiffened even tighter.

"Fine." Isis bowed her head again as she came to her decision. It was like watching a tree bow. "I will order my people to-" She spun suddenly, all of her attention on the water tents. Then she turned and ran, cursing in Egyptian.

"Daniel? What's going on? What did she just say?"

Daniel pushed up his glasses. "I'm not sure, but it can't be good." Then he took of running.

"Dammit!" Why couldn't they ever get easy assignments?

***

He had waited in the water tent. It had seemed to be a place of high traffic, rendering his continued presence there inconspicuous. It also provided him with an opportunity to survey the enemy, as weak was they were, and search for his target in relative peace.

His efforts had not been in vain, he noted, as a juvenile of the planet's inhabitants stepped through the curtain, moving straight over to the liquid dispenser without even noting the other's presence.

Apep took a step forward. The child spun, dropping his water, wide eyes staring up at the host. He began to back immediately, as though sensing the alien's intent. Which was impossible of course. Humans lacked those capabilities.

But still…

Apep reached forward as the boy turned to run, snagging the small figure by the throat, effortlessly lifting him off the ground. The boy twisted and kicked, gasping for breath and clawing at the hand that held him aloft. He tossed the boy to the sandy floor.

Yugi twisted again as the large figure bore down on him, the bigger man using his knees to pin Yugi in place on the ground. He scooped up Yugi's hands in one of his own, pinning them above his head as the man used the other to cover Yugi's mouth. Yugi bit down hard on the flesh covering his face, trying to ignore the sickly feeling the man radiated. It was the same feeling Bakura had always given him. Something wet, slimy, oozing off of his skin.

The man on top of him hissed in pain but didn't bother to move his hand. Instead he leaned in closer to the boy's struggling figure.

* Yami!* Yugi screamed in his head, pulling as hard as he could on their bond.

"I found you." The voice of his attacker was strange, unnaturally hollow. His eyes glowed with gold.

Yugi screamed the moment the hand left his mouth, his cry shortened by lips that pressed against his. He could taste the blood of his attacker as something large fell into his throat. And started wiggling.

*YAMI!* Yugi's mind screamed the name over again and again as pain over took him. He could feel as something burrowed deep into the back of his throat, feel his control over his own form slipping. He tried to claw his way out from the now still body on top of him but could only watch in horror as his own arms went slack, numbness spreading up from his fingertips. His lungs burned but he couldn't even gasp for breath. His body shook as though in seizure. Yugi watched as his vision narrowed, his world shrinking to a pinprick of light, then disappearing all together. His only awareness of a sibilant voice echoing somewhere within his own mind.

#Now I claim you.#

***

Horror was all Isis could feel as she pulled open the flap. A body was lying on the floor, an Egyptian man she did not recognize. He was obviously dead, his dark eyes glazed over and blood seeping from his mouth.

Yami cradled a second figure, gentle shaking the figure and screaming his name. He glanced up as Isis approached and she could see that his irises were not the only part of his eyes that were red. "Isis, I can't- he won't- I can't reach him! I can't hear him!" He shook his head, then squared his shoulders with determination. "I'm going in Isis."

She nodded. "Good luck Pharaoh."

Yugi's body slumped into the sand as its only support disappeared back into the puzzle. The young man's skin was sallow but he was breathing. Barely, but he was. She could see the line of drying blood running along his chin. She crouched down by the body, reaching out to touch him, to prove that even if he wasn't well he was alive.

"Don't touch him!" A hand clamped around her wrist, puling her back from the body.

"Let go! Release me!" She swung with her other hand, her fist connecting with the man's face. She heard him grunt in pain but he didn't loosen his grip.

"Jack! A hand!" The figure was joined by another, more hands dragging her away from her charge.

"Teal'c, check the kid! Carter, get on the CV. Let them know we have a situation here. Make sure no one gets in or out."

"Yes Sir!" Sam disappeared to the outside of the tent.

"O'Neill, the child appears to be alive."

Jack crouched down by the boy's body, his inner monologue screaming curses. "Is he infected?"

"I believe so."

Jack pulled of his hat, running a hand through his hair. "Dammit. Carter!"

"Sir?" the voice drifted in from outside.

"We need a containment unit. ASAP."

Jack turned to Daniel, who was trying desperately to restrain Isis. Jack wasn't a linguist, hell, he had problems with English, but even he could tell that Isis was swearing at Daniel in several languages, none of them English.

"Hey. Hey, Isis!" he grabbed the wrist she was using the wail on Daniel, with quite a bit of success too. The archeologist had a bloody nose and it was likely he would have at least one black eye.

"Let go of me you son of a bitch! Release me!"

"Come on now." Jack lifted the woman, half carrying, half dragging her out of the tent.

"No! He needs me! Let go!"

"Dammit Isis! Calm down! You can't touch him!"

"Why not?" The woman spun in his grip, her dark gaze gouging into him. "Why can I not be there?"

"He has the plague!" Jack shouted. "If you touch him you'll die!"

"You left your friends in there!" She started trying to twist out of his grip again. She was a wild cat! "They were touching him!"

"They're immune! You're not." She sagged against him, going limp like a doll in his hands. "We'll take care of the kid. It's why we're here."

Isis stepped back, staring at the tent, then at the America. She stared at the man known as O'Neill. "I am holding you responsible for this," she spoke the threat calmly, like she was telling him what she had for breakfast. "If anything untoward happens to that child I will find you." She stepped closer, her nose an inch from the Colonel's. "I will find you and I will use your stomach as a water skin and wear your teeth as a necklace."

Jack raised his hands. "I'll take care of the kid. I promise. We'll do everything we can for him."

"But now we need your help," Carter cut in, Isis's laser gaze swinging to the fair blonde. "We need to jeep this thing from spreading and we need to do so without eliciting panic. These people trust you Isis. We'll need your help keeping them here until we can make sure that none of them are infected. We can provide treatment, but only if we know who is sick."

The Egyptian woman glanced back to the tent one more time.

"Please Isis." Carter begged, her smoky blue eyes pleading.

"Fine," Isis hissed. "Fine." She inhaled, resettling into her unemotional disposition. "How can I be of assistance?"

***

The room was light and airy, sunlight pouring in from an unseeble sky. The walls were a creamy yellow. A toy shelf sat in one corner, a thing layer of dust covering the various puzzles and gadgets. Various plants were growing by the window, the beautiful blooms sparkling with a light sheen of water. The air smelled fresh, like spring, and the bed across from the door was large and springy. Underneath the bed huddled a figure, curled up into a ball, seeking the safety of the only shadows in this room. He knew it was only a matter of time until this place was discovered.

Yugi pulled his knees up to his chin, trying to keep his breathing regular as he broadcasted one thought over and over again.

*Yami.*

***

Whoa, these chapters seem to be long. This arc is fairly long too. And I'm making up words. And using them. I love freedom of expression.


	3. Chapter 3

"What's our status team?"

"Well General, the kid's out cold. Janet's got him hooked up her machines to watch him." O'Neill knitted his fingers together, tapping his clasped hands on the table.

General Hammond turned, facing SG1 as they sat in the debriefing room. "Is he secure?"

"Yes General. We've got him in full restraints, sir. Just in case he wakes up." Sam rested her head in her hands. She couldn't even remember the last time she slept. It had been nonstop since the Apep's betrayal. After they had secured the kid they had rounded up the excavators and archeologists, claiming to be monitoring them for signs of plague. The Egyptian military had at least cooperated and had orders to release the people after three days time after administering a "vaccine" which was nothing more than vitamin shots.

The kid had been bound and flown over to the SG as soon as possible. He hadn't so much as stirred since they discovered him passed out. Janet had run an ultrasound on the boy first thing just to make sure he was even infected.

"So what is it that we are dealing with here?"

"I don't know sir." Doctor Fraiser handed the medical report to the General. "He's defiantly got a Goa'uld but according to scans neither one of them are conscious. Both have a fluctuating pulse but other than that appear stable. I've ordered more tests but frankly sir I don't even know what it is that we are looking for."

The old General sat down hard in a chair, frowning at the team. "Teal'c have you ever heard of such a thing."

"I have not." The alien raised his eyebrows. "I know of no such instance where a Goa'uld was not able to immediately posses its host."

Sam tapped her pen. "Perhaps we should ask the Tok'ra. They might have a better idea of why this is happening."

"Oh sure Major. Like those guys will ever tell us anything. With our luck they'll want us to ship the kid over and that'll be the last we hear about it."

"You may be right Colonel, but at this point we don't have many alternative options. Major, as soon as we are done here arrange a meeting with the Tok'ra. Any assistance they can provide will be a valuable asset. This could be a valuable opportunity to gain information that will allow us to defeat the Goa'uld. What information do we have on the boy?"

"Actually sir, quite a bit." Sam started flipping through the bulky file in front of her. "His name is Yugi Mutou, age twenty three-"

"Whoa." Jack sat up straight, finally looking alert. "Hold up. There is no way you are telling me that that shrimp down in the infirmary is twenty-three. He looks as though he's twelve!"

"He's twenty-three sir. It's in the file." She held the aforementioned item up for emphasis before continuing. "He's Japanese, Grandson of a Solomon Mutou-"

"Hold up." Sam glanced up, surprised that Daniel had interrupted her instead of Jack. "Did you say Solomon Mutou?"

"Does that name mean anything to you Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond leaned forward.

"You mean you don't know it?" Daniel glanced around at the puzzled faces before him, shaking his head in disbelief. "Solomon Mutou was one of the greatest tomb raiders of all time. They say that there was nothing he couldn't steal, no booby trap he couldn't beat. Rumors have it that he even managed to steal from some of the cursed tombs. He went legit back before my time, returning all his artifacts to Egypt, but he made some of the greatest discoveries of our time."

"Fascinating Daniel, really, but it has no bearing whatsoever on what were are talking about here. Major, continue."

"_As I was saying_," Sam glanced around, watching for people about to interrupt her, "Grandson of Solomon Mutou who took custody of the boy after the death of his daughter and her boyfriend, car accident. Then there is nothing for a bit but after he turned sixteen the kid starts showing up all over the place. He's got a few police reports on record. Apparently he was part of a hostage situation in a restaurant, then here he helped the police capture a serial bomber. Then he won a whole bunch of duel monster tournaments-"

"Duel monsters?" Jack scoffed in disbelief.

"It's a card game serious, and according to this Yugi won some serious cash. He's also rubbed elbows with Seto Kaiba of KaibaCorp-"

"Now why does that name sound familiar?" Jack spun in his chair, rubbing at his hair in thought.

"We have a contract with them. They manufacture a lot of our navigation equipment. Anyway it looks as though Yugi continued on like this for quite a bit. Financially he could retire today. After his high school graduation Solomon passed away and Yugi disappeared. All I could find is that he spent the last five years f his life getting his Masters in Egyptology, passing with Honors. But he went to a cyber school, doing all the courses via distance ed. somewhere in Japan. After graduating from that he was hire by Isis, who seems to know him through other means, which basically brings us up to today."

"Well Carter, as much fun as that was it still leaves us with _Absolutely Nothing_!" Jack snarked, clearly annunciating each syllable of the phrase.

Hammond sighed, rubbing his temples. "All right, Dr. Fraiser will continue to monitor the patient. Major Carter, you have your orders. Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c are to remain on base incase there is another incident. Dr. Jackson you are to go through the shipping manifest we commandeered from Miss Ishtar to see if there are any items, which may have provoked this. Dismissed!"

The conference room emptied quickly, leaving Hammond alone with his thoughts. He stared at the desk and not for the first time wondered why the hell he had accepted this job.

***

He covered his ears with a pillow, trying to ignore the rattle doorknob. He could hear the curse, a slithering whisper, on the other side of the door. So far the lock had held but he knew that nothing lasted forever. The rattling grew louder, as though by shaking the knob faster it would cause the lock to give way.

Yugi clutched the pillow to his chest, trying to wedge himself even tighter under the bed.

***

Machines beeped and word with the steady rhythm of life. Dr. Fraiser was hovering in the infirmary, checking the data readouts every five minutes.

"Any change?" Daniel walked into the room, leaning against the wall, trying to ensure that he was not in the way.

"No Dr. Jackson," Janet Fraiser shook her head, her normally calm face tight with worry. "There have been no changes in either subjects status." She started scribbling anxiously on her clipboard.

"Oh," Daniel looked down at his feet then shot his head up. "Why did you need me here then?"

Janet paused in her scribbling, shooting Daniel a blank look. Then her eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh, that's right! Come here a moment and look at this." She set the clipboard down on the desk then strode over to the patient. "Here it is," she lifted up a small chain around the boy's neck. At the end of it was a pendant. It was small, maybe an inch wide and three tall, and looked to be made out of gold. The thin pyramid dangled upside down from the steel chain.

Daniel looked at the thing, then looked at Janet, then looked back to the pendant. He reached out for the pyramid, gingerly picking it up to examine it closer. When he sat it back down Janet could see that Daniel had gone pale.

"Dr. Jackson?"

"Doctor Fraiser, do you know what that is?" She shook her head. "That- that thing- it's the- I can't believe that he has it! That's the Millennium Puzzle! The thing is ancient! I had heard that it had been found but apparently everyone on the expedition died soon afterwards. I though Egypt had reclaimed it, or it had been lost to the black market. To find it here is absolutely amazing!"

Janet smiled. "I thought you would excited about that. Does it help with your investigation?"

Daniel sighed, the wind leaving his sails. He shook his head despondently. "No. This was found years ago. There would have been no mention of it in the article. But still," his eyes lit up again, "look at the craftsmanship! The Eye of Horus is just exquisite! You can even see the bricks! And it's in one piece!" He lifted the item up again, his eye searching for the fault lines within the design. He turned it over in his hands again and again.

"Fascinating!"

***

"Fascinating…" the voice hissed. The door lay shattered at his feet, the once firm wood nothing more than splinters.

He took another step into the mind of his current host, glancing around with surprise. He had seen many minds in his day, but he had never seen anything quite like this. Most were like a system of pipes, and he was the poison in the water main. Once he was in he was in. It had taken him a while to discover that this mind stored itself differently then he had wasted more energy trying to find an access point. He had never seen a mind that was so compartmentalized, one able to cut itself off from its form without causing death to the body. It was fascinating.

But Apep didn't have time to explore. The host's body had been trying to reject his physical form and the sooner he could gain control the sooner the immune reaction could be suppressed.

He glanced around the room, dissolving himself into shadow so he could search more efficiently. He needn't have bothered. This was the last defense. There was no other place for the mind to hide.

"What have we here?" He saw the host's self-projected image, the quaking form under the bed. He reached in there, grabbing one ankle. The host yelled and fought, trying to clutch at the smooth floor as he was dragged from his refuge. His blows were ineffectual. Apep thought it was amusing that the creature still resisted. It helped balm his annoyance at the discomfort his physical form had gone through, though it did nothing compared to the host's screaming as his mind was slowly devoured by the shadows in his soulroom.

***

All at once the machines started beeping wildly, screaming out unintelligible warnings for unknown danger.

"Move!" Janet pushed Daniel backwards. He complied, backing up as far as he could without becoming part of the wall itself.

"What's going on?"

Janet felt along the boy's body, her hands double-checking the machines' readings with her own senses. "Vitals of the host are crashing. No apparent cause." She moved to the other side of the bed, her eyes searching more monitors. "Dammit! We're losing him!" Yet as soon as the words had left the screeching stopped, all monitors to returning to how they had been moments ago.

Then the boy opened his eyes. Golden, glowing eyes.

***

Alarms shrieked in the base and armored personnel ran every which way. Jack only ran one way, toward the Gate Room. When there were that many alarms going off there was really only one place where things could be going wrong.

Sure enough, he stepped through the doors to witness an all too familiar sight.

"Dammit Daniel! Can you not be the hostage for once?"

"Sorry Jack," Daniel stumbled a bit to his left, moved to better hide his captor from O'Neill's view, "Next time it can be your turn."

"Silence!" Jack cursed their luck as the hollow voice of their local Goa'uld filled the chamber.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Jack waved the zat gun he had been packing theatrically. "Let me guess. You want through the gate, in exchange we get the hostage."

"Indeed," hissed the parasite. "And since you understand the situation you should have no issues complying."

"No." Jack shook his head. "No deal."

"No?!" The tension meter in the room spiked.

"No," Jack repeated firmly. "You were Tok'ra, you know how we operate. This is always how we handle these situations. No. N-O."

"Perhaps I was incorrect in my assumptions. Perhaps you do not understand what is going on."

Daniel cried out as Apep kicked the back of his knee, forcing him down on deck. He winced as a sharp pinch lodged itself in his neck. Jack had his zat raised but he could tell from his friend's expression that it wasn't going to be much use in this situation.

"Now let me explain in terms that your primitive race can understand. I am leaving through the Stargate. You will be aiding me in this task. Failure to comply will result in the death of Dr. Jackson. This syringe is filled with air. Any attempt to incapacitate me will result in injection. If you attempt to use a zat my host's body will automatically convulse, pressing down on the plunger. You lack the means to rescue the hostage. Now. Dial the gate."

"Wait." Jack waved his hands. "I'm confused. What's so dangerous about air? It's _air_."

"Jack," Daniel rolled his eyes in exasperation, "it will kill me. I'll explain how later."

"Oh," Jack jutted out his chin, "good to know."

"Silence fools! Open the gate! Now!" The Goa'uld screamed the command, driving the needle deeper into Daniel's neck.

"Now wait a minute. Why are you in such a hurry to go?" Jack watched with confusion and suspicion as sweat broke out over the Goa'uld's forehead, the boy looking almost desperate. He had never heard a snake person sound... hysterical before. Sure they had shouted in rage but Jack had never heard one sound worried.

The shot rang out, echoing loudly the small chamber.

"Jack!" Daniel yelled, wincing as he leaned forward, watching in horror the as blood blossomed from a wound in his arm.

"_I am done talking_!" The Goa'uld screamed. "You will let me through now or you will say goodbye to _both_ Dr. Jackson and O'Neill. Now dial-"

Daniel shut his eyes, hearing the creature stop suddenly in mid-sentence. Whatever was going on couldn't be good.

***

Yami stepped across the threshold, the horror he felt at the broken door nothing compared to the chaos within the room. The walls had morphed into solid gold, gaudy hieroglyphs covering every inch. Everything else was gone, save for a large golden throne in the center of the room, and murky shadow hovering above it. And in the center of that murky shadow hung

"Yugi!"

As soon as the cry crossed his lips the shadow began to move with purpose, shrinking and morphing until upon the throne sat the intruder. It took the same physical appearance as Yugi, the only exception being its eyes shone yellow, literally glowing with their own inner light. On its lap, wrapped in the intruder's embrace lay Yugi wearing nothing more than a short skirt and a heavy metal collar, the chain running into the intruder's hands. The boys amethyst eyes were dull and unseeing.

"Oh," the interloper cocked his head to one side, "what is this? This is indeed surprising."

"Who are you?" Yami whispered the question but still it echoed around the gaudy chamber.

The invader snorted in contempt. "I am Apep, God and ruler of this body."

"What have you done with Yugi?" Yami's voice has heavy with rage.

The intruder only smiled. "Is that the name of this vessel? It is a poor name. I will change it later." He ran hand down Yugi's face, his abnormally long nails pressing deep into the young man's pale skin. The boy didn't even flinch. "My host is currently watching as we escape, killing those pathetic creatures who have been a blight in my people's side for so long. They will die slow deaths."

Yami could see the lone tear that slid along Yugi's cheek. Apep noticed it as well. He smiled cruelly at Yami, then, in one slow stroke, he licked the moisture off of his newest pet's face.

Yami took another step forward, shooting Apep a smile cruel enough to the self-proclaimed god pause.

Yami held out his hand.

"Would you like to play a game?"

***

O'Neill swore at the bullet hole in his arm, swore at Daniel for getting caught, again, and swore at the snake using the kid to do evil, snaky things. His eyes met Daniel's and he could see resignation, read the "we're boned." And as much as he hated to admit it Daniel was probably right.

Jack inhaled, taking a deep breath and bracing for another bullet wound as the Goa'uld rattled out more threats.

It never came.

The gun in the boy's hand clattered to the ground, the body falling onto its knees. Daniel darted forward, scrambling out of the way and tossing the needle that had been lodged into his neck. He grabbed Jack's zat, spinning and preparing to fire.

And stopped, stunned by the events occurring in front of the Stargate.

The boy had fallen onto all fours and was silently retching. A small trickle of blood hit the ramp. He retched silently once more, spewing more blood. Then a large object hit the ramp with a wet thud and the body collapsed to one side. The object let out a piercing scream then began to slither toward Jack and Daniel.

Dr. Jackson fired the zat, yelling as the Goa'uld dodge to the side and leapt into the air.

There was a familiar hum and the creature hit the floor. Most of it. Some of it hit the wall.

"About time you got here! The kid shot me!" Jack wiggled, struggling to his feet. He looked to Teal'c's raised eyebrows, then shifted his gaze to the charred remains of the Goa'uld symbiote. "Daniel… what the hell just happened?"

Daniel sat in stunned silence. He looked to Jack, working his jaw in silence, then looked around the gate room which was quickly filling up with soldiers and the med team.

The Colonel sighed, once again surveying the room. He waved away the doctors and slowly approached the crumpled figure in front of the Stargate, bending over to confirm the grim news himself. He was probably going to get shot telling Isis about this but he had made the promise knowing he wouldn't be able to keep it.

His fingers brushed the throat.

Guns shot up as O'Neill cried out. The Colonel spun sending blood from the wound flying. "I need a med time here STAT!"

***

"So how are they doing?" General Hammond leaned into his leather office chair, staring at the bruised woman sitting across from him.

"Dr. Jackson is fine, just a little shaken up. The Colonel took a gunshot wound to his arm but the damage was minimal. He's in the infirmary for observation and should be up and around in a few days, though I recommend he stay here until then."

"And Yugi?" The strange name rolled off his tongue awkwardly.

Doctor Fraiser frowned as she shuffled through the paperwork. "Unconscious. It seems as though his body rejected the parasite but as of yet I am unable to determine why. I was able to examine some of the specimen and discovered that the symbiote was covered in lesions. I almost believe that the boy's body underwent an immune response that began to metabolize the Goa'uld, but I'll know more after I run some tests."

General Hammond tapped his desk. He had thought he had become used to all the unexpected things that happened at the SGC but there were still days when he could be thrown for a loop. "Is he still a threat?"

Janet shook her head and pursed her bruised lips, compliments of being tossed into a door. "No sir. He's parasite free and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of… well… anything sir."

"All right Doctor Fraiser. Run your tests and inform me of any changes. Dismissed."

***

Yugi opened his eyes, the room slowly sliding into focus. The walls were butter yellow and sunlight trickled in from an unseen sky. Plants grew plentiful in one corner, sparkling from a light sheen of dew that covered them. A dusty shelf lined one wall, filled with toys and puzzles that had been left to use.

He was in the middle of a bed, another warm body pressing against his. At first this was cause for panic. Yugi pushed and twisted away from the body, yelling and crying as fear sunk deep into his heart.

Then Yami pulled him closer, whispering comforting in a language to a Yugi who was too exhausted to translate. He pulled his Aibou into a tight embrace, lying the boy down, kissing his forehead comfortingly and stroking his hair.

Yugi focused on Yami's crimson eyes, seeing the fear and the joy they held. He snuggled closer to the Egyptian Pharaoh, grounding his own mind in his presence, feeling himself sliding back into a healing sleep.

Yami slipped his arms tighter around Yugi, swearing to himself and to his gods that he would never come that close to losing the boy again.

As the Pharaoh feel asleep he heard one last sound dance across his consciousness, but it was difficult to tell if it was real of the echo of memory.

*Thank you, friend.*


	4. Chapter 4

"Now open your mouth wide."

She gently tucked the tongue depressor into his mouth, shining a light so she could better see the scar forming at the back of his throat.

"Well," Doctor Fraiser tucked her light into her pocket and smiled at the boy. No matter what his age there was no way Janet could bring herself to think of him as an adult. "It looks as though your throat is healing nicely. I see no signs of infection. How's the pain?"

The boy stared at her blankly, not even blinking in response to her question.

"All right," Janet picked up a needle. "I'm giving you this for the pain." Once again the patient was nonresponsive. He had been that way for almost a week, spending the one before that unconscious. She had taken the time to stitch up the wound left by the Goa'uld, but Janet was afraid that the boy's problems were worse than that.

"And done." She wiped the injection site, speaking more to give herself a sense of calm than out of any belief that her voice would somehow breach the silence that Yugi was surrounded in. Though she supposed that anything was possible. She discarded the syringe, moving into one of drawers and rifling through its contents. "There we are."

She pulled out a small sucker. "This is for you." No response. Janet picked up Yugi's hand, setting the candy in his palm, curling his fingers around it.

"You never give me candy." Jack strode into room, Sam following close behind him.

"You never follow my orders."

The Colonel nodded. "You have a point." He waved his arms, both of them, over his head. In exchange for half the snake the Tok'ra had agreed to patch him up. It had only taken a little browbeating, a little reminding of the fact that it was they who introduced the shooter to the SGC. That may have had something to do with the lack of candy on their side.

"Any changes?" Sam peered anxiously at the patient.

"None," Janet shook her head. "He's still not responding. It could be due to trauma but it is likely, given what we know of symbiotes, that there is damage to the brain and nervous system."

Jack waved a hand in front of the kid's face. "So how long will it take him to get over that?"

Both Sam and Janet resisted the urge to roll their eyes. "He won't, Sir."

Startled, O'Neill looked back to the women. "Don't tell me that! I have a woman who is going to use my body parts to decorate her museum if we don't get this kid back to her and in one piece. And I think she can do it, too."

Janet sighed, lowering her clipboard. "I wish I had better news Colonel, but unless the patient starts showing signs of improved mental function soon, within the next few days, it is likely that he will never recover. Without knowing why his body rejected the Goa'uld it is impossible to determine what type of damage has been done. I'm sorry, Colonel, but I've done all I can."

"Damn." Jack leaned on the bed lowering his head and trying not to imagine his intestines as wall art.

"Anyway, I gave him something for the pain and it is likely to make him sleepy."

"Thanks Janet," Sam gave the doctor a pat on the back. "We'll take him back."

"Come on kid." Jack grasped the boy's shoulder, gently pushing him off the bed. The boy responded to the touch with minimal resistance, allowing himself to be guided. As the left the infirmary Sam threw one last look over her shoulder. "Problem Carter?"

"No Sir. Just a shadow."

***

The SGC stood quiet, no sirens screaming or light flashing in panic. There were no soldiers running down the concrete halls, guns drawn and at the ready. The only sounds that echoed down were the frantic rustling of papers and the frenzied tapping of a pen. On occasion a disembodied murmur silenced the other rhythmic sounds.

Daniel stared at the mess before him, trying to will it into some sort of logical conclusion. The mess resisted, glaring balefully at the archeologist with paper eyes.

"Any luck?"

He started, stumbling as he jumped out of his seat, crashing to the ground in a landslide of paper. Hands pulled at him helping him up.

"Sorry Daniel!"

He readjusted his glassed. "It's okay Sam. I was just preoccupied. I didn't hear you come in."

Sam bent down, scooping up the white sheets that had accompanied Daniel to the floor. She glanced at the pages as she set them on the desk, trying to make heads and tails of the chaotic scribbles that danced across the page. Failing, she turned to their source for answers. "What are you working on?"

"Artifact catalogues." He ruffled through more piles, more for the sake of movement than out of any planned search.

"Excuse me?" Sam turned the sheet around. Maybe she was holding it wrong.

"Oh," Daniel finally looked up, his face reflecting his mind coming back to reality. "The Egyptian government sent us copies of Miss Ishtar's findings. I know that we already sent copies to the Tok'ra but I'm searching through, trying to find the connection between the excavation and Apep." He resumed his rustling, frowning at the papers.

"Any luck?" Sam leaned in, trying to see whatever it was that Daniel was looking at.

Daniel stilled. He dropped the papers, slamming his hands onto the tabling and falling back into his chair. "No," he ran his fingers through his lengthy mop, "I can't find anything! All that they found were two ribbon devices and a Goa'uld healing device. Yeah it's a big find here but there is nothing exceptional about it, nothing worth breaking cover for! I can't figure out what he was looking for! There is nothing here!" Daniel slumped, his forehead hitting the desk.

"Daniel…" Sam stared at the archeologist, hoping to ease his mind. She noticed the pale skin and the dark circles around his eyes. "When was the last time you slept?"

He lifted his head, paper drifting from his forehead. He shot Sam a blank look. "What day is it?"

Sam laughed, her bright laughter filling the dark room. "Get some rest. I'm sure the Tok'ra will figure things out. Go home Daniel. Or at least to the mess hall. Colonel and Teal'c are there."

He bit his lip, staring back at the mess. Maybe a retreat would be for the best. He could come back when he was rested.

"SG-1, report to the briefing room immediately. SG-1, report to the briefing room immediately."

Or not.

***

A wet slurping sound filled the conference room before O'Neill, speaking through a mouth full of fried chicken, asked the question of the hour. "What are we doing here?"

"Jack, shut up." Hammond was cranky. He had spent the last two weeks on the phone getting chewed on by his superiors for security breaches. When he wasn't doing that he was filling out the paperwork caused by dealing with Egypt, who were cooperative only due to the half ass 'plague' story that SG-1 had cracked out. But there was the heat from the international community for the United States playing with fire and dropping it on others laps. And if that weren't enough the Tok'ra had been hammering on the door to get a look at the kid who was still in drool made. Plus he was going to have to deal with this.

"Is everything all right Major Carter?" Teal'c titled his head to the side, turning to stare at the woman who was frantically rubbing her eyes.

"It's fine Teal'c." She smiled to highlight her point. "My eyes are just playing tricks on me, probably due to sleep deprivation."

"And you were telling me I was bad." Daniel shot Sam and accusing look, who could only smile guiltily in response.

Jack took another bite of his drumstick, sucking the last bit of meat before tossing the bone. The rest of the team lapsed back into a tense silence. At least until the door opened.

"General Hammond… What the Hell is he doing here?"

"Ah, nice to see you to Jack." Colonel Maybourne stepped through the door sporting a slick suit and a slicker haircut. He flashed a sales person smile before striding to the front of the room going to stand by Hammond. "I'm here to acquire test subject codename Antivenom. Orders of the President." Maybourne smirked at the disbelief in the conference room. "You are all required to fill out these forms on any and all interactions you've had with him."

"Sir!" Jack stood, his chair firing into the concrete wall.

"I called the President, Colonel. He's confirmed what Maybourne said. You are to have the reports filled out by 1700 hours tomorrow, when Maybourne will be shipping out." To say that Hammond did not sound happy would be a drastic understatement.

"Wait, with the kid?" Daniel looked around. "I'm sorry Sir but you can't mean that. He's not even an American citizen. It's not like we can take him and make him disappear into some lab for the rest of his life."

"I have authorization to do just that Dr. Jackson." Maybourne bounced on his heels, seemingly excited by all the resistance. "This could be our chance at finding a way not just to prevent Goa'uld infection but also to safely remove symbiotes from hosts. Besides, I've read the charts. The kid's basically a walking vegetable. We need him and he is blissfully unaware of anything going on. If her were more than a walking doll we would have a problem, but he's not, so we don't." Maybourne settled into a chair like a cat in a sunbeam.

"Wait just a minute!" jack was still on his feet, still looking pissed. "This kid knows people. You think they aren't going to notice when we don't give him back? What about Isis? "

Teal'c turned to Maybourne, raising an eyebrow to accentuate O'Neill's point.

"That," Maybourne crossed his hands across his chest, "has already been handled."

***

She had been sitting with the rest of her team when she had seen the rising line of dust. They had all watched it with a mixture of hope and despair. Despair because they had been in quarantine for weeks with no news from the outside world. The military had confiscated all electronic devices in the name of "panic prevention." The only people who the dig team saw, besides each other, were the military types, all frowning and scowling and telling no one what was going on. Everyone was hot, sweaty, dirty, and sick of each other's company.

But hope pervaded, as it always did, like the plague that they were all supposed to have been exposed to, despite only Yugi having "fallen ill." Perhaps the vehicle was something other than supplies. Perhaps it was the order for their freedom, finally. Perhaps it was news on Yugi.

The vehicle had drawn near and more men in military gear had hopped out. After commiserating with higher ups she had been called away and given the good news. The plague was contained. They were free to go. She had smiled, briefly, in celebration for her people, as their personal affects were returned to them and transportation was arranged so all could finally go home.

Then she had been handed the urn and an apology and had been left standing alone in the desert.

Isis stared down at the jar, feeling the cold handles beneath her grip. She could feel gravity pull at the urn, trying to yank the smooth arms out of her grip.

She let it.

The vase was caught by the sand, cradling it but tipping it to the side. The lid fell off, silver ash spilling into the golden sand, the wind carrying the lies off to be lost in the desert.

She flicked open her phone.

A deep voice on the other end answered.

"Moshi moshi?"

"We need to talk."

***

He lay on his side, breathing slowly and evenly, every inhale and exhale clearly punctuated. To the outside observer, and they were there, outside and observing, Yugi looked to be in deep sleep. That's all he seemed to do. The doctor had stitched up his throat and the boy had slept for days, his mind wrapped in a comforting darkness, his body responsive only to the most basic of stimuli. When he wasn't being examined by Doctor Fraiser he was here, locked in a room under the view of a camera, lying on his side and breathing slowly.

But cameras couldn't see everything.

Yami sat in Yugi's soul room, watching as the boy lay on the bed, his finger tracing imaginary patterns across the room, his eyes scrunched in concentration.

"Yugi." The Pharaoh's tone was soft, gentle. Unusual for him.

It caused Yugi to pause, his finger stopping in mid swing. "Yes Yami?" He rolled onto his belly, sinking deep into the dark fluffy blankets of his bed.

"Yugi, you need to go back." Yami whispered the words soothingly, as though breaking bad news to someone who couldn't understand it. "Yugi"

The boy sighed, drawing himself into a sitting position, his chin tucked into his knees. "But that is not all you have to say." His violet eyes peered through dark lashes, clouded with worry.

"Yes," Yami nodded darkly. "We are in danger. A man has come and wishes to take you away to a place where we will not be able to freely leave from. The people who came to the dig site wish to stop him but cannot. I think he is under orders from his leader."

Yugi giggled into his knees. Around him the now golden patches of his butter yellow shimmered under the sunlight. He peeked his head up, smiling at Yami. "So it is business same as usual. For us, anyway." The boy was grinning despite the bad news.

"Aibou?" Yami had thought that Yugi would still be… fragile after his latest trauma. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"If I am not I will be, Yami." He smiled again, despite the circles under his eyes. "We both knew that I could not stay here forever. It's been long enough. And I am not worried." He crawled across the bed, depositing himself in Yami's lap, snuggling deep into the Pharaoh's chest, "because I have you."

Despite himself Yami chuckled and held Yugi closer.

"That you do, Aibou."

Out side the soul room, to the place where the cameras could see, Yugi's body breathed in, and out.

* * *

Moshi moshi- Response when answering the phone. Just like in French where you answer the phone "Allo" but normally say "Bonjour" or equivalent when in person.

-Sorry, I changed it because I was wrong.

**************************************************************

A/N-Don't forget to check out my poll on my profile! And reviews are much appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Armed men lined the walls of the tunnel with Maybourne standing at the end by Hammond, an impatient look upon his face. He spoke to the General, who frowned and gave some Texan retort that caused Maybourne's greasy smile to slide form his face, if only for a second.

Jack halfheartedly pulled the kid forward fighting the urge to tuck Yugi under his arm and run. The boy would probably fit too. But the hair would stick out from under his coat. If only he had a razor…

Teal'c caught O'Neill's sigh a turned to look at his friend as the slowly proceeded down the hallway. "You are feeling much guilt," observed the alien.

"It's fine Teal'c."

"O'Neill, if you do not wish for us to proceed…"

"We'll do what Teal'c? Shoot our way out of here? Spend the rest of our lives hiding for the sake a vegetable?" Jack shook his head. They had no practical alternatives to what they were about to do. The orders came from too high up. "No Teal'c. I may not like it but orders are orders."

"Indeed." The Jaffa did not sound convinced. O'Neill wasn't sure if he was either. Then again this was just another thing for him to lose sleep over late at night. Soon he was going to end up like Daniel, functioning solely on coffee and curiosity. Minus the curiosity.

"Ah Jack," Maybourne smiled as though they were old friends, "this here is Antivenom?"

"It's Yugi," Jack returned the smile with a sarcastic smile of his own.

Maybourne raised his eyebrows, trying to look surprised. "Why Jack, it sounds like you are attached!" He stooped over, looking into the boy's dull eyes before grasping his palm. He smiled snidely at Jack. "Don't worry Colonel. I'll take good care of the kid." Maybourne gave the tiny hand a sharp tug. "Come on." He turned toward the lift.

Jack felt a sharp tug on his sleeve as Maybourne dragged Yugi forward a step. Jack was surprised by the hand gripping his uniform. "Maybourne? I don't think he wants to go with you."

Maybourne spun, glaring. His glare melted into a scowl when he saw Jack's arm. "Make him let go, Jack."

O'Neil shook his arm, his hand flopping wildly. "Oh darn. Didn't work. Imagine that."

"You aren't stopping this, Jack. Quit with the delay tactics."

"What tactics?" Jack asked, for once as innocent as he was trying to sound. "He grabbed me. See?" He held up his sleeve again, Yugi's hand still firmly attached.

"Fine Jack. Have it your way." Maybourne moved back, huffing at the Colonel. He dropped to his knees, dropping Yugi's right so he could pry his left from Jack O'Neill. The moment he did so the right hand flew, meeting up with its partner in a vice like grip. "What the hell are you playing at Jack?" O'Neill stared down, confused as everyone else. Maybourne grabbed the boy's wrists.

"Ah!" Yugi gave a startled shout and peddled backwards, slamming into Teal'c. He looked up at the Jaffa, horrified, and spun away, crashing to the floor unceremoniously. He looked around in confusion.

Jack dropped to his knees, his movement catching attention of Yugi's gaze. It held fast as Jack leaned in. "Yugi?" He asked tentatively, as though expecting someone else to answer.

"Soldier-san?" Yugi blinked as he placed the face as one of the people who had been looking for Isis. He looked around. Yami had warned him but still, this place was definitely not Egypt.

"We don't have time for this!" Maybourne snarked. "Load the kid up now."

General Hammond seized his opportunity. "The situation has changed. I'm going to contact the President. You are _welcome_ to stay on base," his words dripped with sarcasm, "but until I explain things to the President, Yugi Mutou is to remain here. Colonel O'Neill, I remand him to your custody. Take him to see Doctor Fraiser. Then take him back to his quarters. Dismissed."

"General-"

"I said 'dismissed,' Maybourne." General Hammond took off down the hallway, already calculating the shortest distance to his office.

Maybourne shook his head angrily. "What's done is done. As soon as you people are done with this farce I'll be leaving. And I'll be taking the boy with me."

"Over my dead body!" O'Neill called after Maybourne.

"I do not believe that it will come to that O'Neill. If you cannot I am certain that I would be able to defeat Maybourne in a contest of strength."

"It's an expression."

"Indeed."

Jack turned back to Yugi. The kid was pale and tense, but his expression was determined. Jack silently approved. The kid seemed to be made of sterner stuff than anyone expected. He stood up and offered a hand. "Hey kid. I'm Colonel O'Neill." The boy looked at the hand critically, evaluating his options. "You can call me Jack." Violet eyes met Jack's browns.

Slowly, the boy grasped the old soldiers palm.

***

"Yes Sir. I understand Sir, but- Sir! Yes Sir."

Hammond passed the telephone receiver back to Maybourne. "Sir? Yes Sir. I truly believe that this is the best option. Yes Sir. Thank you sir. You won't be disappointed." He passed the phone back to Hammond.

"Yes sir? Yes sir…" Hammond slammed the device back into the cradle, turning to men in the room. Jack leaned against a wall while Teal'c stood beside him, a stoic statue. Neither of them looked happy, though that wasn't unusual. Carter lounged on the other side, hands behind her back, eyes wide with concern. Daniel was off watching Yugi, making sure the kid didn't get into trouble.

"What did he say?" Jack's calm masked his true emotions. He knew George too well. The General wasn't happy about how his chat had ended.

"The President said the pros out weigh the cons," Maybourne spoke up, looking bored by the whole affair.

"So we are just ignoring the human rights issue?" Sam stepped forward.

"What issue? Officially the subject is deceased, his remains already been distributed. How we would explain that? Get caught in a cover up? The President doesn't think we can risk being caught in another scheme after taking so much heat over the "plague" scare."

"So we're gonna torture a little kid." Jack's jaw tensed as he snapped the question.

"Don't be so melodramatic Colonel." Maybourne flashed a patronizing smile. "I've read his file. He's hardly a child. We need this information. Besides," Maybourne perched smugly, "its not like anyone knows he's here."

***

He flicked his cell shut and spun his chair. He stood slowly, approaching the large window that made up the wall of his office. The view had always been one of Kaiba's guilty pleasures, laying the rest of the world before him, at his feet.

But now he stood before it out of habit, the hustle of Domino City witnessed by only his unseeing eyes. Still he stared at the cityscape while his mind turned over his conversation with Isis. He held his hands behind his back, running through and discarding options over and over again.

"Ni-sama?" Mokuba poked his head through the door. He had grown quite a bit in his last year of high school and was almost as tall as Seto. What he lacked in height he made up in girth, filling out a little broader that his brother. "Ni-sama, is everything okay?" Seto had locked himself in his office, missing a board meeting he had been trying to arrange for weeks.

Seto turned, wearing a smile that would make a shark shudder. "It will be by the time I am done."

Mokuba stared at his brother reproachfully. He had seen that look before.

***

"Yugi!Open the door!"

Daniel's voice floated drifted down the hallway, dusted with a desperate edge. As the rest of SG-1 approached Daniel looked up. It took only seconds for Jack to spot the food try, the closed door and the desperate doctor and the embarrassed soldiers. Whatever was going on was definitely not according to plan.

"Daniel?" Jack nodded at the doctor whose normally wild hair was sticking out at all angles. "What's going on?"

"Ah, Jack. Well… uh," Daniel turned to the door, then to Jack, then back to the door. Then he turned to Jack, running both hands through his hair before starting his story, gesturing wildly "Well, I was in here, watching Yugi, and we were talking. About archeology and such, mainly his grandfather. Then he commented that he was hungry, he had basically been in a coma, so I went to the mess to get him food. I left Sidney and Rogers here to guard Yugi, so he didn't run away. And… well…" Daniel threw down his hands. "We can't get the door open."

"Is it unlocked?"

Daniel rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yes Jack. It's unlocked. It's also immovable and I don't know why."

In was Jack's turn to look exasperated. "You knew when I say "guard someone" what I actually mean is "stay with them at all times" so things like this don't happen."

"Well Sir," Sam popped up to head off a fight that could wait until later, "how are we going to get it open?"

"Teal'c," The Jaffa raised an eyebrow. Jack shook his head in the direction of the door. "Open it, will you?"

"Yes Colonel O'Neill." Teal'c approached the door, calmly turning the handle. With a crash he threw his entire alien strength against the metal frame. It gave, but only barely, a small crack forming between the door and its frame. Teal'c slammed into again. It didn't move. "It appears that I am unsuccessful O'Neill."

"Yeah Teal'c, I can see that." Jack took Teal'c's place, peering though tiny crack. "Yugi? Are you in there?"

"Where else would I be?" The voice was amused.

"Yugi?"

"Yes O'Neill?" The kid sounded a little off. There was something a little… different about his tone but Jack couldn't place it.

"Yugi, open the door."

"No."

"Well that was affective." Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose. "What?"

Jack shot Daniel a glare. "This is your fault you know."

Daniel opened his mouth to speak, tilted his head, then fell silent. Every once and while Jack did make a good point.

More footsteps echoed down the hall. "Gentlemen, do we have a problem"

SG-1 shot each other silent looks. "Indeed Colonel Maybourne. The youth has somehow barricaded himself with the chamber." Teal'c dipped his head, probably to hide the small smile that tugged at his lips. He always took great pleasure at anything that distressed Maybourne.

"Jack." Maybourne turned to O'Neill.

"We can't open the door." Jack flashed an apologetic smile.

"How incompetent are you people?! You were supposed to be watching him!" Maybourne took a deep breath, schooling his expression. "Get the door open. You," he pointed to one of the men who had been guarding the door, "go inform General Hammond about this. I'll stick around to make sure you people don't screw this up worse."

Jack tapped his head against the door. "Come on Yugi, open the door."

On the other side a crimson-eyed man crossed his arms, his expression amused as two minds raced as one. Somewhere just below the surface Yugi giggle nervously. *He is very upset, Yami.*

/Yes, he is./ Yami radiated contentment. /And it is only to get worse for him./ He leaned forward in their body, one leg dangling off of the desk he was sitting on while his back rested against the door. The room they had been left in was small but fully furnished, complete with a desk, a bookcase and a cot. There was also a chair and a closet that had a variety of blankets in its top shelf. Yugi had spotted the solution and he had gotten Dr. Daniel Jackson out of the room. Yami had rearranged the furniture.

He smirked as he heard another body slam into the door, causing him to shake. It wasn't going to move. The desk was bracing the door and in turn was being braced by the cot. On the other side of said cot rested the bookshelf. And on the other side of the bookshelf was a concrete wall.

"Dammit Yugi. Open the door."

Yami spun, opening one of the desk drawers and pulling out one of many of suckers there. Apparently someone had stashed the candy Yugi had collected from his many trips the infirmary. He pulled out a few pieces, sticking the rest in his pocket as he pulled the plastic wrap off the last. "Why should I open the door?" He popped the sucker in his mouth.

"He has a point," Jack turned to Maybourne. No one responded. "Well, he does," Jack murmured despondently. He turned to door. "If you open the door we can discuss things."

"And then ship me off to play guinea pig for the rest of my life?"

"No, we gave up on that plan."

Yami rolled his eyes. Even if he hadn't been in the conference room he would have been able to tell the man was lying. He had no skill for it. "I'm sure you did, O'Neill."

Jack shrugged at his team. "It was worth a try."

"Jack," Maybourne clipped his words, "Handle this."

Easier said than done. "Yugi, open the door. Please?"

"No." The cocky bastard still sounded amused.

"Dammit kid. You have to give me something." He listened to the rustling on the far side of the door. He heard the soft footprints. Through the crack he caught a brief a change light, then heard a small scrape. He looked down. Poking through the crack in the door was a small sucker. "Ha ha. Cute." Still, he picked up the candy and pulled off the wrapper, sticking the thing in his mouth. It was going to be a long day and he could the sugar. Beside, he liked suckers.

***

All across the world they shut down. Workers were sent home early, nothing to do but twiddle their thumbs and worry about their job security. Shipments leaving the factory were cancelled. Ones on their way were recalled. Money danced through banks, refunds being distributed for the millions who weren't going to get what they paid for.

And one lone figure sat by in his office, waiting for the call that was only a matter of time.

***

Yami worked at the screws, wiping his brow at the exertion. *Do you need me to take over?*

Yami chuckled. /Yugi, I'm stronger than you. I'm fine./

*Oh. Right.* The boy materialized at Yami's side, leaning in to watch his counter part work. "Is there anything I can do?"

/No./ Yami kept his response silent, not willing to risk the danger of being listened in upon. /I don't wish for you to be spotted. Besides, I'll soon be done here./

"Right," Yugi sat on the bookcase. He watched as Yami worked at the grating over the air vent. Two screws had already been removed, leaving two remaining. He glanced anxiously at the door. It had been quiet for a while. The silence unnerved Yugi. He knew they would be planning something else, looking for another way to enter besides using brute force, which had failed spectacularly. Though they wouldn't know what Yami was doing. They had covered the camera with a blanket, blotting out prying eyes. Still… it was only a matter of time.

***

Lieutenant Crosby lowered the cutting torch. He nodded with satisfaction at the angry line that had been burned into the door, just above the handle. He turned to his superior officers, waving his hand frantically. "There you are Sirs! That should just about do it."

"All right." Maybourne practically pushed Crosby out of the way. Crosby muttered but stepped farther back. Maybourne lifted a leg, kicking the top of the door.

It held firm.

The Colonel hit the ground, clutching his leg and cursing to everyone's amusement.

Crosby hid his smile behind a large plastic glove. He hefted the torch again. "I guess it would use a bit more work."

***

The phone rang.

***

The top of the door swung open with shattering force, hitting the wall and swinging back under the force of Teal'c's kick. He crawled through the door first, pulling himself along the wooden desk, watching for any signs of hostile activity. Finding none he shoved the desk out of the way, opening the door for the squad of Maybourne's men waiting on the other side.

Maybourne stepped through last, whistling at the set up. "That was clever, kid," Maybourne called into the room, "but I win. It's time to give yourself up."

"Sir." One of the men approached the hole in the wall on the far side. "We have a problem."

Maybourne snatched a flashlight from the soldier, staring angrily down the airshaft. All he could see was a small green jacket. The one the base had provided with for the kid.

Outside the room, Teal'c bowed his head to hide the small smile that formed at the litany of the Colonel's curses.


	6. Chapter 6

Daniel blew on the food, forcing the smell down the airshaft. The delightful scent of pizza, ordered in from town, filled the room. It was Sam's plan, as usual, to try and use food to lure the kid out. He hadn't had a real meal since he regained his mental processes and the debacle with the door had taken hours. Add in the fact that the only vent that was uncovered, the only vent the kid could leave from, and you had a pretty solid bet that the boy would head their way eventually. It's not like they could go after him. They had no one small enough to go in pursuit and even if they caught the kid there was no way to drag him out. So the pizza plan was actually the only plan.

"Could I get a piece of that?" Jack sat on the bed, rubbing his face. He had been assigned, along with Daniel, to wait for the boy to come out. It was their job because it was their mess. SG-1 was grounded until Yugi was 'safe and sound' in Maybourne's hands.

"No Jack." Daniel answered distractedly, concentrating on the vent, listening for the echo of movement.

"How about now?"

"Jack, shut up." The airshaft loomed before Dr. Jackson, mocking his efforts with its nothingness.

And in his hands the scent of a rising crust deluxe wafted temptingly.

***

Hammond answered the ringing phone. The red phone.

"Sir? Yes Colonel Maybourne is still here. I'm paging him now." Hammond placed the receiver against his chest to send a message out over the PA. The he resumed his conversation with the president. "He should be here in a few minutes Sir. Mr. Mutou? Yes, he's still here. Yes Sir." The door to his office opened and a Maybourne swaggered through. "Yes Sir. May I inquire as to why you have had a change of heart? Ah. I understand Sir. It will be done. Maybourne is right here Sir. Yes Sir." George held the receiver out to the Colonel. "It's for you. It's the President."

Maybourne took it with an arrogant snatch. "Good. When he hears what type of circus you are running I'm sure he'll go looking for a better ringmaster." Maybourne put the telephone to his ear. "Sir."

It was the highlight of Hammond's week.

Noise blasted from the phone. Maybourne tore it from his ear as the President of the United States of American tore a strip up one side and down the other. Every time he opened his mouth to respond the shouting got louder. Hammond was certain that between incompetent and uninsightful the term "blathering idiot" was dropped. It was a perfect moment to turn the tide on what had been an awful week. His only regret was that he didn't have a movie camera so he could replay this every time he felt stressed.

It was too soon that Maybourne set the phone back in its cradle, looking as though he had aged twenty years.

"Bad news?" Hammond asked innocently.

***

Kaiba browsed over his wardrobe. It had been a while since he had needed to impress someone with more than just his name. He rustled through what Mokuba had packed for him, tossing jacket after jacket aside. Kaiba huffed a short breath. His little brother seemed to have stuffed every jacket Kaiba owned into his suitcase and none of them were suited to his purpose. Despite everything he had taught Mokuba about business the child still hadn't picked up his brother's sense of fashion.

The Kaiba's fingers touched a smooth material that brought back memories. He looked down at the very last jacket and smiled.

Maybe Mokuba had learned.

***

"All right folks, look alive!" Hammond strode into the room with a bark, causing Jack to roll of the bed without ceremony.

"M'awake," he winced. "Hey General Hammond."

Daniel stood from the chair he had been resting in, almost tipping the cool pizza to the floor. Behind Hammond Teal'c and Carter strode through the door, looking pleased for the first time since the Tok'ra's last visit.

"Listen up folks. We have new orders from the President himself. Your team is to escort Mr. Mutou off base to Washington DC where his fate will be further discussed. From this point on he is to be treated like a honored guest."

"What about Maybourne?" Jack stood, brushing himself off and wincing as his elbow ached with a newly formed bruise. "Not that I'm complaining but what about his mad scientist act?"

Hammond smiled. "Colonel Maybourne has been order by the President himself not to set foot within a hundred feet of Mr. Mutou. Apparently the Colonel isn't as clever as he thinks. Japan and Egypt are both threatening to go to war if we don't have Yugi Mutou in Washington to meet with their representatives within the next twelve hours."

Daniel coughed. "Japan and Egypt? But that's…"

"Very nice and all," Jack cut off Daniel, "but we have a bigger problem. Even if we find him, how the hell are we going to convince the kid to come out of the vents? I doubt he's going to take our word on all off this."

"You were fairly convincing."

Everyone gave a start at the noise, looking to vent to see where it had come from. All the blankets stored in the top of the closet hit the concrete floor with a gentle thud. "I'll go without any more trouble." Yami hopped down from his hiding place, landing gingerly on the floor. Everyone stood, mouth agape, as the young man deftly snatched the box from Daniel and scooped up a piece of the pizza, taking a ravenous bite.

"We thought you were in the vent," Daniel pointed to the hole, trying to reconcile what he knew with reality.

"Indeed." Teal'c arched an eyebrow.

Yugi snacked on his pizza, leaning forward to peer deep into the vent. "I don't think I'd fit in there." He spun gracefully, holding the box under O'Neill's nose. "Piece?" O'Neill stared at the crimson eyes, trying to decided whether he should be angry or amused. Instead he snagged a piece of the pie.

"General Hammond," Yugi spun to face the older man, "I take it that speed is of the essence. Let us be off." He went and stood in the doorway, waiting for his escort to follow.

Sam turned to Jack. "The closet sir?"

Jack held up his hands. "I wasn't here. I was told the room was clear."

"Indeed. This does make Maybourne appear to be very foolish."

"You don't sound too upset." But then again, neither did the general.

Daniel shook his head, still a few minutes behind. "Japan _and_ Egypt?" He murmured to himself, walking through the broken halves of the door. "And Egypt?"

***

'Yugi' slumped into the bed, appearing as though in deep sleep, his gentle breathing a pleasant change from his sardonic stare. True to his word he hadn't caused any more problems for the team but that didn't make him the best of company. He had wrapped himself in mocking silence, as though he knew more than they. This impression was only strengthened by his lack of questions and his silent refusal to provide answers. Even Daniel had eventually given up asking, allowing the young man to continue brooding darkly while staring out he plane window.

That had sent the tone for the rest of the trip, which had been made in relative silence. Besides Yugi, Teal'c was the only person who did not fall asleep on the way to Washington. Even Hammond had dozed for a bit, the continuous stress of the week wearing upon his steady nerves.

When they had landed they had immediately been moved a hotel to await further instructions, Hammond disappearing to the Pentagon to discuss the finer details with his higher ups. Without a word Yugi had dropped into the bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He had slept soundly, not even stirring at the fuss as Hammond returned.

"Well General," leave it to Jack to cut to the heart of the matter, "what's the situation?"

Hammond settled into his chair, nodding at Carter to shut the door to room where Yugi lay sleeping. When it shut with a soft click he launched into the impromptu briefing. "We have a conundrum people. Our orders are to ensure peaceful relations continue between ourselves and these other nations-"

"Well that's not so bad," interrupted Daniel, staring around the room with growing optimism.

"-while maintaining the integrity of the Stargate program."

Even Sam looked a little confused by that one. "Sir?"

"We aren't authorized to return him to his people."

"I'm sorry Sir," Jack leaned forward, propping his hands on the table, "but I though I just heard you say we _couldn't_ give the kid back."

"Those are our orders Colonel."

"Wait, so… what? We are supposed to negotiate a peace but we aren't going to give them anything?" Daniel pushed his glasses back up his nose. "You can't serious expect that this will actually work. We are, after all, dealing with people from our own planet, not halfway across the galaxy."

"I agree Sir," Sam shook her head, her blond hair dancing around her face. "There is no way this is going to work. The parties involved obviously already feel hostile. If they find out that we have no intention of complying with their demands-"

"We _can't_ comply, Major." He had expected her to at least understand the situation. Instead he was forced to lay it out. "Here we have a young man who has not only seen the Stargate but was also infected by a Goa'uld. Even if we ignore how valuable his immunity to the Goa'uld is we are still left with the fact that he may indeed have knowledge of both the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra as well as the SGC facility. There is simply no way we can risk handing him over."

"Sir," Jack knew the General was making several strong points. He just didn't care. "This plan is stupid."

"Objection noted Colonel."

"I mean really stupid."

"Colonel…"

"It might be our stupidest plan to date-"

"Don't make me repeat myself Colonel," Hammond's voice rose with his temper. "You have your orders. We are to reconvene at the Pentagon at 1300 hours. You are to wait here for your escort. Make sure that Mr. Mutou is up and ready to go. I'll be meeting you at the Pentagon." Hammond nodded to his team and made his escape, glad for the door between him and the disgruntled SG team. Through the wood he could hear a grating voice.

"_Really_ stupid."

***

Two of the countries involved had met. There had been introductions of the main players, the Japanese Ambassador Mr. Hirihito, General Hammond, and the White House Liaison Frank Mills, but little other pleasantries. Both sides had been eager to begin negotiations as soon as possible. So Mr. Hirihito and his security staff, four men in dark suits and sunglasses, and a young man, who Mills presumed to be Hirihito's aide, had all gathered in the room prepared at the behest of the President himself. The room was filled with the scent of fresh coffee and donuts.

Mr. Hirihito was neither impressed nor pleased. "I was under the impression that Mutou-sama would be joining us."

General Hammond glanced down at his watched. "Mr. Mutou will be here with in the hour. He seemed fairly exhausted by his trip and we thought it wisest to let him get some rest before having him join the negotiations."

Mr. Hirihito narrowed his eyes. "I do not understand how you would expect us to negotiate for the conditions of return for Mutou-sama without his presence." His voice was quiet, almost soft, but his glacier tone spoke volumes. Behind him the young aide in a ridiculous white trench coat scribbled down a few notes. "Unless," Mr. Hirihito tilted his head, "this is purposefully hostile action?"

Mills stepped in, smiling to smooth tempers the way he smoothed his tie. "It is not our intention to create hurt feelings. It is just that our position requires a delicate touch and we wish for everyone involved to be at their best so there will be no accusations of foul play later. We had hoped just to create a better understanding of our respective positions but as you wisely pointed out it may be difficult to do so without everyone here. If you wish to discuss pleasure instead of business we would be amendable to doing so until both Mr. Mutou and the Egyptian representatives arrive." He spoke with the ease of a man who knew that he would be agreed with.

The aide wrinkled his nose as though holding back a disgusted snort. The Japanese Ambassador's dark eyes narrowed further. "We shall wait. We believe that to be the wisest course of action, for now." He sat down stiffly in the chair offered to him, dismissing any attempts of the staff to offer him food or beverage.

The representatives of Japan sat in total silence. It made General Hammond feel like a schoolboy again, counting down the hours until Mrs. Quinn's class ended, trying not to fidget to avoid the ruler she always carried in her pocket. Mills didn't do so well, delicately rocking his chair from side to side.

It was a relief for everyone involved when the door finally cracked open. Teal'c, wearing a cap, strode through the entrance flanked by one terse looking O'Neill. Hammond winced when he saw that they had both forgone formal wear, instead deigning to show up in their fatigues, which meant that he could look forward to Major Carter and Dr. Jackson doing the same. Though Hammond supposed he should have expected this kind of passive resistance from the team. They always put up some display when they thought one of the higher ups was in the wrong.

At the very least Yugi wasn't in the rags they had given him at the base. Someone had bothered to pick him up actual clothes in his size but had done so in an obvious hurry. He was in a pair of jeans wearing a T-shirt that proclaimed his inability to play well with his peers, though the dark shirt placed unneeded emphasis on his pale skin. The boy's spiky hair was lying flat on one side and there were dark circles under his bright eyes as he tapped the artifact that hung from below his neck.

"Mutou-sama!" Mr. Hirihito flew to his feet, "Mutou-sama, are you well?"

The boy glanced at the diplomat, then to the aide before giving a brief nod. "I'm fine." Somehow the aide doubted that. Yugi didn't wander around with blood red irises when he was feeling perky. And it wasn't Yami's habit to let the boy be up and about when he looked this ragged.

"Now," Mills spoke up in a cheery voice as Yugi was settled into a chair on the American side of the table, "since every one is here can we begin with the talks?"

Mr. Hirihito pinned the liaison with a laser gaze, less than pleased with the seating arrangements. "We will wait for the arrival of the Egyptian representatives." Mr. Hirihito's voice made it clear that things would become unpleasant if he was forced to repeat himself yet again.

"Of course you will." Jack stuffed a donut in his mouth. He started to choke as the door opened again, and a familiar figure swept in with immaculate timing.

"I offer you greetings from Egypt," she clasped her hands before her and bowed formally. "I am Isis Ishtar."

"Hello Miss Ishtar," Mills stood up, shaking her hand and escorting her to a chair. "It is a pleasure to have you here. Now," he moved back to his own chair, "maybe we begin?" Mr. Hirihito and Isis both gave small nods while the aide tapped his pen on the table.

"Wow," Daniel whispered, "Japan brought a lot of security."

"Yeah." Jack leaned in and whispered back. "It's like they think we'll spirit them off to labs to be experimented on. Wonder where they got that idea?" Somewhere deep in the puzzle Yugi giggled.

Yami hid a smirk, but for different reasons. He could tell by the expressions of those whom he counted as friends in the room. These Americans had no idea what they were getting into.

Mills leaned back in his chair and flashed his most charming smile. "Well, since Japan was the country to get in touch with us first would you like to do the honors? What are your demands?"

Mr. Hirihito maintained his stoic face. He made Teal'c look overemotional. "We only have one. The immediate return of Mutou-sama."

"Egypt's demand is the same. We require only that Yugi be returned to his homeland." Her eyes sought Jack. "You are lucky," she told the soldier. "It is unusual for me to fail to uphold a promise."

Silence stretched on as Mills pretended to consider the proposal but his performance was undercut by the nervous fidgeting of the SG team. However, the foreign diplomats were still surprised by his response. "I'm afraid we can't do that."

"Nani?" Yami cursed his own weakness as the question escaped his lips. He should not have fallen asleep in the hotel.

*Why not? You and I were both tired and I think my body is still a bit unwell. We needed sleep far more than we needed information. It is not like we could have done anything about this,* Yugi pointed out practically. *Fainting here would hardly have done anything productive.*

Yami could hear the smile in Yugi's voice but through the puzzle he could still feel the boy's worry commingling with his own.

"I do not understand." Mr. Hirihito's face could have been chiseled out of stone. "I was under the impression that America did not wish to go to war." He cocked his head with the question.

Isis did not handle the news so well. "What?" She hissed her clipped words from between her teeth. "You come to my dig site chasing after your…_plague_," she spat the word as though it were cursed, "take one of my people and promise me you shall return him. Instead you lie, tell me he has passed into the afterlife, and hand me an urn of remains that are not his. And now you say that you will not return him?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why have you bothered to meet with us at all?"

"Told you it was a stupid idea."

Mills glared at the smug Colonel before crooning at the representatives. "I never said we were unwilling to negotiate, nor does our country wish for an avoidable conflicts. I am sure your respective governments feel the same way."

"Then why reject our demands?" Mr. Hirihito straightened in his chair, as though preparing to leave.

"Unfortunately," General Hammond spoke up, "Mr. Mutou was exposed to some highly classified information. As much as we would love to return him and put the matter behind us, in truth to do so would not only put us at great risk but could possible endanger Mr. Mutou himself."

/Fuck./ Yami could feel his urge to kill rising. His mind started calculating if it was possible for him to kill enough guards to get Yugi to safety.

*And spend to rest of my life in hiding? Let us just see how this ends first. Have more faith in our friends, Yami.*

"Yes," The aide leaned forward, speaking for the first time. "I am sure that a base that launches both satellites and plagues," the raise of an eyebrow revealed that he didn't buy the cover story for a moment, "has many secrets to hide. However that does not having any baring on our considerations."

Mills sent the young man an ice glare. He looked young, early twenties maybe. Far too young to be speaking out over such an important issue. "I don't believe I caught your name. You are?"

Yami didn't bother hiding his smirk this time. He had been waiting patiently for this.

"I," the aide stretched out the word, as though what he said after it was going to reveal the secrets of the universe, "am person whom you will have to satisfy to get your peace." He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, as though amused that these things needed to be said. "I am Seto Kaiba."

Carter was the first to make the connection. "Kaiba, of KaibaCorp?" Everyone knew the name of the company. It was if not the largest then certainly within the top three companies in the world. What had started off as a gaming company had not taken long to move to other areas of business. KaibaCorp was now involved in everything from kitchen gadgets to weapons development. At the tender age of twenty-four Seto Kaiba could be not only one of the most successful business men ever, but also one of the most influential.

But Mills was a trained negotiator and was not one to be moved by big names. So he flashed a charming smile again, his earlier hostility melting back into his façade. "Pleasure, Mr. Kaiba, but may I ask as to why it is you we need to please? I thought I was negotiating with Japan and Egypt, not the Kaiba Corporation."

Yami's smirk sharpened.

"Mr. Mills," Kaiba's arrogance shone through, "you are dealing with the Japanese government, who deals with me. When I am unhappy, the government is unhappy."

"Unhappy enough to go to war." Mills sniffed disbelieving, smelling a bluff.

Kaiba stood, placing both his hands on the table, his white trench coat flaring out dramatically behind him. "I do not think you appreciate your position." He glanced around the room, making sure he had everyone's attention so he wasn't forced to repeat himself. "Until these negotiations reach a suitable conclusion all KaibaCorp and affiliates are under orders to stop manufacturing and distributing products. As of yesterday there have been no further distributions of products to anyone across the entire world."

Mills waved his hand, "I appreciate the type of power you wield-"

"Obviously you do not," Kaiba cut him off. Yami knew the man was, despite the seriousness of the circumstances, enjoying himself. Kaiba always loved to show people up. "Nor do you appreciate the precariousness of your position. I _am _KaibaCorp. All the technology, all the products, all the land belongs to me. Therefore KaibaCorp will stand still until I say otherwise."

"And then you'll go broke. As I said, I appreciate the type of power you wield, but it is finite. Corporations rise and fall-"

"As do empires, Mr. Mills. Let me make this clear. I owe Yugi. In Japan we do not fulfill our debts when it is convenient for us. We fulfill it when it is time for it be fulfilled."

"You'll still run out of money-"

"And how long do you think it will take before my financial resources run dry? Days? Weeks? Decades? Before or after the end of the media storm as I announce why my company has shut down?" Mills paled as Kaiba sat down, as the people in the room finally realized whom they were dealing with. "Did you think we were going to remain silent about this travesty out of the goodness of our hearts? Of course, you could hold us here to prevent this leak, but information is a strange thing, is it not?" He leaned forward. "Do you really think that I would naïve enough to come here and not leave a contingency plan behind in case I never returned?"

"Still," Mills blundered on, trying to do something so he could clamp down on his growing panic, "war is not actually a feasible option. America's military outclasses yours. There are very few countries that would be willing to go to your aid over this matter. Frankly, you're outgunned."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think you buy your weapons from?"

Kaiba didn't bluff.

* * *

Sama- honorific, very formal. Equivalent of Sir or Lord. Using it shows great respect.

Nani- "What?"

I apologize if this is wrong. My Japanese is…. lacking, so to speak.

And if I may so, this chapter was awesome. Kaiba was fun to write.


	7. Chapter 7

Yugi sat swinging his legs in a chair that was just slightly too tall for him, the bottoms of his shoes scuffing at the floor. Isis and Daniel were in deep conversation over the particulars of Isis's excavations. It would have made Yugi smile if he hadn't been feeling so tired. The doctor had done the same thing to him in the brief time they had spent together alone, mostly asking after the shady career of his Grandfather, Solomon Mutou, when he wasn't trying to pry out details about the Millennium Puzzle.

Yugi stared down at the photos below him, sighing as he looked down at the hieroglyphs. Isis had brought some of her work with her to work on during the plane, but since they had nothing better to do she had brought them out, trying to muddle her way through them to kill time and tension while a suitable replacement was found for White House Liaison Mills, who showed poor form and ill representation of his company when he tried to intimidate Kaiba of KaibaCorp, a man with whom the United States had hoped to have many fruitful dealings with in the future. Yami had taken leave when Mills had been forced to take his, sinking deep in the puzzle so that he could rest. His energy was nearing depletion, having to have guarded Yugi's mind, body, and interests for the past two weeks while Yugi had recovered. The spirit was not at the top of his game, and if he was going to have to kill everyone in the Pentagon for Yugi's sake he was going to need a bit more sleep.

Kaiba was using the break to continue with his doodles, which could, with a little more time and effort, end up as KaibaCorp's next cash cow. He was used to this sort of thing and had hardly expected negotiations to be concluded quickly, though getting the other ambassador fired within an hour was always a good start.

Mr. Hirihito was still sitting quiet and still, his security guards grotesque statues behind him. No emotions flickered through his face, his eyes staring with a sharp gaze, simply waiting for negotiations to begin anew.

The rest of SG-1 was discussing donuts. More specifically Sam and Jack were trying to explain to Teal'c the donut hole, both why it was missing in the donuts Jack had been eating and why there was another type of food that was called the donut hole. This soon led into a deep conversation as to whether or not a Boston Crème was actually a donut, seeing as how it did not posses a hole.

Finally an elder gentleman with a grandfatherly air stepped through the door, chatting intimately with General Hammond. "Ah!" He spread his arms wide, "I'm Keith Montgomery." His voice was a pleasant grumble, filled with bubbling humor. Subconsciously everyone in the room relaxed a little.

He clapped his hands together and rubbed them softly. "Now let's see if I can't make everybody happy, hmm?"

***

Jack stared at the empty plate with dismay. They were out of donuts. Sad, but not tragic. The tragedy was actually the dark night sky, the one he couldn't see due to lack of windows, but knew was out there from the ticking on his watch, which was reading "somewhere close to tomorrow." Normal protocol would have been to shut down hours ago, get some food, some sleep, and reconvene in the morning when everyone was in a better temper.

But apparently Kaiba didn't believe normal protocol. Oh no. He had said that Yugi wasn't leaving his sight until negotiations were done and he had meant it. To make matters worse he didn't even look tired despite the late hour. By all rights the jetlag alone should have had him looking rough, never mind how late it had frown. But he looked wide alert and was still bargaining like a pro. Mr. Hirihito had fallen silent and just watched Kaiba go, appreciating the deftness with which the CEO handled himself against the American negotiator.

Oh course they were still just spinning their wheels, chasing their tale as they ran in circles. Neither side was willing to give anything though both kept throwing insincere offers onto the table, knowing they would be rejected. All they were doing was running through the motions. It was worse than trying to bargain with the Tok'ra.

Jack dropped his forehead onto the table with a thump, startling everyone into silence. He sat up blearily, a red mark forming on his forehead. "You guys know it's only called negotiating if you are _willing _to trade? Right? Or is that just me?"

Predictably Kaiba spoke up first. "We only have one demand and it is rather straightforward."

Montgomery leaned back, heaving a sigh as only old men can do. "And we already told you son that we can't let Yugi waltz out of here with you. So let me make you a better offer."

Jack slumped his head again.

"Why don't you offer me a job?"

Everyone turned to gape at the center of this debate, who had remained silent in his own defense the entire time.

"Excuse me son?" Hammond frowned, certain he had heard the boy wrong.

/Yugi… What the hell are you thinking?/ Yami grumbled deep within his head.

"I said, "Why don't you offer me a job". It seems to be the best solution." The boy met unbelieving stares with his amethyst eyes. He turned to the General first. "My skill set is very similar to that of Jackson-sensei who is in your employ."

/Yugi,/ Yami warned, moving closer to the surface, ready to take over to prevent his Aibou from doing anything rash.

"Plus I would be willing to give the occasional blood sample to help you with your plague research." Jack was impressed at how smooth the kid gave the line, not even batting a lash as the lie escaped his lips. "This allows you keep close watch on me and you will no longer have to worry about the confidentiality issue." Yugi then turned to Kaiba and Isis. "We arrange it so that until we are comfortable this situation we get in touch frequently, arranged according to work scheduales and time differences. And at a future date, if things have not gone well, we can renegotiate terms."

/Yugi, are you sure this is wise?/

*Listen.* He continued allowed. "At the rate we are going no one is going to walk away from this content. People may die. I do not wish for that, especially not for my own sake, under these circumstances when it would be needless."

"Yugi," Kaiba spoke up, weighing Yugi's words with careful consideration. He knew that somewhere in his head Yami was not happy about this. "Are you certain that you would be satisfied with this?"

Yugi gave a curt nod. "Kaiba-san," he responded in rapid Japanese, "you and I both know that I have felt ill at ease in Japan. I am sure Isis-san made you aware of my demeanor in Egypt. I am not losing anything." He switched to English. "I am sure it will be fine."

Kaiba lapsed into thoughtful silence, for once not having anything to say.

General Hammond met Ambassador Montgomery's eyes. He spoke their shared thought. "We'll have to talk to the President but that sounds like it will be fine."

"A few conditions," Kaiba's silence didn't last for long. "I will need a way to ensure that you keep your word, to make certain that Yugi is treated as an employee and not a prisoner."

Montgomery nodded and smiled. "I'm sure that we can arrange something."

* * *

AN-Okay, this chapter was short. Now I have gotten all of the "How DID this happen" out of the way I can move to fun stuff. Warf, Engage the warp drive! Wait, crap... wrong show. Daniel, dial us outta here!

PS- Review! I like input and any criticism will only help the next chapters be better.


	8. Through the Gate prt 1

Yugi hitched up his vest, feeling the weight of all his supplies, running through his head to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He still felt a bit ridiculous dressed in military fatigues, dog tags banging against his Millenium Puzzle, an item he wasn't supposed to be wearing.

/It will be fine, Aibou./

*They gave me a gun, Yami.*

/And they taught you how to use it./

General Hammond had explained that the SGC wanted Yugi in the field. Dr. Jackson had proved time and time again to be an invaluable asset and one in much demand, constantly being shifted from team to team. By placing Yugi in the field they could hopefully scale back Dr. Jackson's duties and increase the amount of information brought in by old ruins. But only on the condition that Yugi could carry his own weight, otherwise he would be given a desk job.

So it had been off to Basic Military Training. The course had taken seven weeks and had been tailored for an emphasis on self-defense. He had also been expected to study the files on the SGC, brushing up on mission reports so he knew exactly what he had gotten himself into. Every moment he spent on base was with a folder in his hand and every moment off involved a gun, or at least that's how it felt.

It had been a bit of a private hell for Yugi, like repeating high school all over again. Everyone here was bigger than he was, was stronger, and a few of the stupider ones like to remind him of that fact, especially when they found out that he was older than many of them. He wasn't sure what amused his peers more, the fact that he looked fourteen or the fact that he was almost a decade past that. But no matter what the source there had been a few that had decided it would be fun to act upon it. Nothing too major, a shove here, a push there, all the little things that cowards resort in the face of diversity.

If Yugi hadn't had Yami he probably wouldn't have made it through. Even as it was the spirit himself did occasionally add to his frustration. He found himself continually explaining that the Air Force would notice if their recruits started falling into comas, and though it might improve the military's standards they were unlikely to see it as a favor.

Though Yugi got his revenge. On the day of graduation Colonel Jack O'Neill, decorated military officer and hero to more than a few of the cadets, had come to offer both his congratulations and a ride back to base. That had dropped more than a few jaws. Yugi had smiled all the way back to base.

But the smile had buried itself into worry. He hitched his vest again.

"Nervous?" Yugi nodded and Colonel Mike Hutchenson flashed him a reassuring grin. Hutchenson was the leader of SG-13, the team that Yugi had been assigned to. "Don't worry squirt. The MALP said that PX3-9G7 showed no signs of indigenous life. They gave you a breezy first assignment."

Yugi bit the inside of his lip. He didn't like Hutchenson. The man was loud, arrogant, and continually spoke down to Yugi, his voice often thick with contempt. Yugi was certain the man didn't even know his name, referring to him only as squirt. Thankfully the other members of his team, Captain Frank Samson and Captain Elise York, at least treated him with the cool courtesy of professionalism. Yugi couldn't really blame them. On their last mission they had been ambushed, the fourth member of their team killed in the exchange. It would have to be hard to see someone selected to fill the shows of a man who would have been their friend. He was optimistic that, given enough time, things would get better between them all.

"All right, squirt. Remember that PX3-9G7 mainly forest, so when we get to the trees you are to stick close to me. Our mission is to-"

*Scout out, searching for ruins, civilizations or valuable resources. We are to remain as a group in order to improve efficiency, so no wandering off and getting lost. It would be awful if I tripped on you.* Yugi ran through the speech in his mind, having already heard it a dozen times. He winced as Hutchenson roared with laughter at his own thin joke.

/Yugi, are you certain that this is all right?/

*It's fine Yami. We survived basic training, we can survive this man. He just needs time to get to know me and I am certain it will be fine. Besides, I have you here. I am sure we will be okay. I am just nervous.*

/Right./ The spirit's response was dry, but Yugi could feel his worry and his agitation like an itch across his skin.

Then the Stargate began to spin. "Chevron one, encoded." The voice blared over the PA, causing Yugi to start a little. He felt his pack again, feeling the smooth outline of his gun and his knives, one on his belt and one in his boot, before triple checking for his radio. It gave him something to do besides think about the fact that he was about to be millions of light-years away from his home planet.

"Chevron seven, locked."

A giant spurt of what looked to be water shot forward, lighting up the room in a cool blue before settling itself across the circle, a vertical pool of rippling water, reflecting unseen light.

"It's something ain't it?" Captain Samson spoke up form his side. The man shot him a toothy smile, his pearly whites emphasized by his midnight skin.

"Hai," Yugi nodded. "It is amazing!"

Samson laughed, a deep, rumbling sound, like friendly thunder. "Wait til you get to the other side." Then the captain stepped through with a whoosh, the ripples his path left smoothed out in mere seconds.

Yugi took a deep breath.

*Ready?*

/Ready./

Together they stepped through.

Yugi blinked as green light and bird calls surrounded him. He stumbled forward a few steps.

/Yugi? Are you well?/

*Whoa! That was amazing Yami! Amazing! Did you feel it? Did you?*

/I felt it./

*I will never be able to ride a roller coaster again!* His body buzzed with the excitement of instantaneous space travel, his nerves on fire from over stimulation. It was fading, quickly, but for a few seconds Yugi felt as though either bungee jumped from the Burj Dubai or drank a hundred cups of coffee. It was difficult to tell which. *You can be in control when we ride back.*

Yami appeared by his side as they stepped off the platform and into the moss of the forest floor. /I'm not sure this is wise. I like roller coasters./ He maintained a silent connection, a reminder so that Yugi wouldn't speak to him aloud. It was nice to be free from the puzzle and difficult to do on base. Luckily only Samantha Carter and the alien Teal'c had been able to detect his presence, though only the ghost of it, but it was easier to remain hidden then risk exposure. Not that they had that problem here.

"Well squirt," Yugi stumbled as he was patted hard on the back. "What did you think of that? I bet Japan doesn't have anything that exciting to ride on!"

"Not that I am aware of Sir." He answered to avoid further conversation, rolling his shoulder to work out the stiffness forming from the man's blow.

Hutchenson laughed again before settling into his role as leader. He looked around the forest, seeing nothing but trees. "All right people," he barked, "this is a simple recon. Explore and report back, in and out. There should be no problems. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Everyone chimed in. Yami rolled his eyes at the inane displays of the living.

"All right! Then let's move out!"

***

/Do you wish to trade?/

*I am fine.*

/You're exhausted./

*I said I was fine.* His heavy breathing as he labored to keep pace with his team undermined his own point. SG-13 was moving rapidly, silently scanning the area without pause and the pace determined by Colonel Hutchenson. The balding officer was almost jogging as he moved, forcing Yugi, who was easily a foot shorter than the man, to run in order to keep up. It was a small relief when he noticed that Captain York also looked strained by the pace. Still, Yugi wanted to prove that he could do this.

"Halt!" Hutchenson stopped suddenly, holding up a hand. He looked back to SG-13, noting their exhaustion. "Okay folks, we're gonna have a five minute breather. Hey squirt, you still with us?"

"Right here sir!" Yugi waved as he sat, sucking air deep into his burning lungs. He could hear Yami clucking at him like a mother hen, unimpressed by Yugi's sudden attempt at machoism.

Hutchenson looked genuinely surprised, as though he had expected Yugi to not actually be there. Yugi felt a ring of annoyance flash through him. Or Yami. It was hard to tell. "Good thing squirt," Hutchenson flashed another easy smile. "When you finally caught your breath I want you to report to me."

"Sir?"

"I wanna show you around, give you a feel for recon."

"Sir," York spoke up, her voice husky, "you told us we weren't supposed to split up."

"Oh, we aren't," Hutchenson's smile widened, "The squirt and I won't be far. I just wanna give him a few pointers on tracking. Might save his life someday. Just want what's best for my team." York rolled her eyes. Yugi had a feeling that this was not out of character for the team leader. "So, ready yet squirt?"

"Hai!" Yugi struggled to his feet, still tired from his long run here. But he wanted to show that he deserved this, just as much as anyone else. Yami rolled his eyes but let Yugi be, instead contenting himself to float behind the boy, watching his back as the and the Colonel drifted deeper into the forest.

They made the trip in silence, Hutchenson saying absolutely nothing to Yugi. The only time he made noise was when he pulled out a hand device, muttering to himself about the downsides of technology. It was a small blessing, as was the fact they were actually walking instead of running along at a breakneck speed. Actually the trip was turning out to be quite pleasant, allowing Yugi to catch a glimpse of the plant life of the planet. He spent more time than was wise noting the differences and similarities between the species present here and back on Earth.

"Here!" Hutechenson finally announced. Slowing down as he planted himself in the middle of a clearing, sunlight falling heavily through the gap in canopy.

"Sir?" Yugi had no idea how this was supposed to help him with recon. He wasn't trained in tracking and he had no clue what it was that he was looking for. Then he heard a rustle in the brush. *Yami, did you here that?*

/Yes Aibou./

"Sir, I think there is something out there." Yugi peered deeper into the trees.

/Fuck!/ Yami screamed in his head. Instinctively Yugi moved to clap his ears, to drown out the spirit's voice, but instead he found himself beside his body, staring at the barrel of a pistol that had been leveled at the back of his skull as Yami took over.

Hutchenson held the weapon with the calm ease of a professional who had everything under control. "Raise your hands squirt." Slowly Yami brought them up, holding them level with his ears. He stood perfectly still as Hutchenson crept closer, circling one arm around him, feeling up his front. The man delicately pulled Yugi's own hand gun out of its holster, stuffing it into the back of his pants before moving to relieve his of his belt knife and his radio.

"What are you doing?" The Pharaoh felt the cold metal poke into the back of his skull.

"Stay quiet squirt. Wouldn't want you startling me. Something… unfortunate could happen."

/Fucking son of a bitch! May his intestines fill up with camel dung as scarabs devour his eyes! May-/

*Yami!* Yugi interrupted his string of curses. *Yami, do you have any idea what is going on?* His thoughts buzzed with worry.

/We are being attacked,/ Yami snarled, his mind rolling with dark fury.

*Yes, I had figured that much out.* Yugi's amused exasperation floated through the bond before congealing back into worry. *Do you know why?*

/Because this man has a death wish./ Yugi sighed. It was impossible to talk to Yami when the spirit was like this, and there was nothing that Yugi could do to help. He sunk back into the puzzle, waiting to see where this could lead.

They didn't have to wait long.

The rustling in the bush gave way a large figure emerging from the trees. He was tall, definitely over six feet, and was solidly built with wide muscular shoulders that rippled even under his uniform. His clothes and weapons marked him as an Earthling but Yami had never seen the blond man before.

Hutchenson had. "Waldo, what took you so long?

"I vas here the entire time," his words slogged out through his thick accent. "Is this the boy?"

"Yeah, it's him, all safe and sound, just like you ask- hey! Stop! Freeze!"

The Colonel watched in horror as his diminutive bounty vanished into the tree line. He swore, holstering his gun, moving to go in after.

A cold blade at his throat stopped him.

"Your services are no longer required."

***

Trees raced by. Yami had no idea which direction he was going but had decided that that was a minor detail. He stumbled and cursed his way through the woods, choosing speed over caution. Part of his mind raved at the damned forest and how it slowed him down, while the other was at grateful for the cover. Mostly it raved. He never had this problem in Egypt.

/I'm going to kill him./

*Later Yami. We need a plan.*

/I have one. I'm. Going. To _kill_ him. It's a simple plan./ From within the puzzle Yami heard Yugi's exasperated sigh, sprinkled with amusement.

The Pharaoh smiled grimly, stumbling in a pothole. They had been through worse. This was just like Pegasus's Duelist Kingdom. Except people were trying to kill him. With guns. On another planet.

Okay, so it wasn't like Duelist Kingdom at all. Still, they could handle it.

Branches cracked. Yami threw himself against a tree, keeping his back to the trunk. He cursed and fumed silently. He heard another branch crack. He pressed his body harder against the wood and slowly slid over, eyes looking for the source of the noise. He slid out further.

"Kuh!" A hand buried itself in his short spikes, dragging him into the open. Yami hissed as some hairs gave free with a harsh ripping sound. He swung his fist into the gut of his attacker, hissing again as a shock ran up his arm.

Waldo snorted in amusement as the puny Asian struggled ineffectually, his punch bouncing off of solid muscle. Then the snort became a grunt as the boy struck again, slamming a fist just under Waldo's sternum. He didn't have time for this.

Yami was winding up for another punch when the hand jerked him sidewise. He stumbled, trying to stay on his feet as he was propelled forward.

Straight into a tree.

***

Lieutenant Colonel Maksim Chesnokov sat polishing his AK47 and chewing on a cigar. The thing wasn't lit, smoke could give away his position to any potential enemies, but it gave his mouth something to do. It helped calm his nerves.

The assignment had sounded too good to be true. He was to take a few of his best men and go camping on this peaceful forest planet for a week or so, wait for the Americans to show up, meet up with their contact and snatch one of American's civilians for hire. Sounded simple enough. So he had accepted.

He should have read the fine print.

By camping his commander had meant roughing it as only soldiers could. There were to leave no discernible campsite. That meant no fire, no generators, no electricity and the constant need to move around. That meant that he and his best men where tired, cold, occasionally damp and totally caffeine free. Not to mention they had started to smell.

Then, just to spice things up, radio contact had been banned. The stupid probe the American's used could detect radio waves and pollution levels. If the Russian soldiers wanted to go unnoticed they would not be able to create either.

And if all that weren't enough they were going to have to find a way through the Stargate, making sure they ended up on their base and not that of the Americans.

Chesnokov shook his head, the voice of father floating in his mind, quoting his favorite proverb. "You're elbow is close yet you can't bite it." Chesnokov really needed to pay more attention to the assignments he accepted.

Footsteps in the forest pulled him out of silent litany. He dropped his rag and raised his gun, biting deep into the cigar between his teeth. Around him his men, Senior Lieutenant Prokofiev and Captain Kuzmin, also raised their weapons.

"It's me," rumbled Major Waldo Baranov. They all breathed a sigh of relief. "I have acquired the package."

He stepped into the camp. His uniform was splattered in blood, the heavy smell filling the clearing. A small figure was slung over his shoulder.

"I take it you successfully dispatched the contact?" The key to the success of this operation was discretion. The commanding officers back in Russia placed this above all else. A man who would betray his own country would just as soon betray theirs. There were other ways to acquire silence besides buying it.

Baranov nodded. "Yes, but there were complications." He dropped his burden.

Chesnokov swore viciously. The package was breathing lightly and bleeding heavily. The left side of the boy's face was covered in blood, and underneath that, bruises. There were small scrapes by his eye and along his jaw. The actual source of the blood was hidden, probably coming from a gash somewhere in his hair.

Chesnokov bent down, his heart calmed by the steady pulse beneath his fingers.

"Kuzmin!"

The Captain jumped then trampled over to the package. As he began first-aid, Chesnokov turned to Waldo.

"Major, what were your orders?"

"Retrieve the package and eliminate potential threats."

"And in what state was the package to be retrieved?"

"Alive, sir."

"Incorrect," Chesnokov hissed, angered as much by Waldo's calm as by how badly the man had fucked this up. "He was to be retrieved unharmed. That means not bleeding everywhere. That means without a concussion."

For the first time Waldo's calm cracked as the man fidgeted. "There were complications."

"Such as?"

Waldo's fidgeting grew more pronounced. "He attempted to escape. I dispatched the contact then went in pursuit."

"And?"

"And when he resisted it became necessary to use force."

"What did he do? Pull a weapon on you?"

"He hit me sir."

Prokofiev and Kuzmin both stifled their laughter, or tried to. Prokofiev choked while Kuzmin muffled his under a cough.

Chesnokov ground his teeth. "He hit you."

"Yes sir."

Chesnokov swore again. He didn't have the patients to be dealing with this. "Senior Lieutenant Prokofiev," the man snapped to attention, "Go at keep watch at the Stargate. Set up the charges but make sure they are hidden. Signal the moment the Americans have left."

Prokofiev hoisted a pack then turned, sprinting into the forest to prep the gate for the Russian's return home. Chesnokov watch Kuzmin in silence and the man cleansed and bound the wounds on the package's forehead.

"How is he?"

Kuzmin shook his head. "It's difficult to say. Head injuries are tricky. He might be fine, he might drop dead at any second. It would be easier to assess the damage if he were awake."

He turned to Waldo. "If he dies, so does your career."

"Sir?"

"If you have a god, Major, now would be a good time to ask for a favor."

***

Wow, my bad. I totally forgot to translate Aibou. It means partner. It seems to be Yami's pet name for Yugi.

Hai= yes

I also want to apologize if I got the military info (the Russian's ranks as the Russian rankings, not the American equivalent) wrong as well. I researched is as best I could but sometimes the internet lies.

Someone asked me about the pairings. Its gonna be YamixYugi and it won't be for a while. As you can see Yami is on the down low for now. Also, sorry it took me so long to update. I wanted to put this arc up in 1 fell swoop but it has almost doubled in length. So its not quite finished yet. But will be soon. Ish.


	9. Through the Gate prt 2

At first he was only aware of darkness.

It didn't bother him. After all, darkness was the beginning of everything. It was always there first. It was only later that the light would come.

And it did. Slowly it filled up the cracks, the dull glow bleeding into the gloom. It reached the dusty walls of the tomb, trying to claw its way up the muddy bricks, discontent to pool on the floor.

Yami stepped through it, his dark presence forcing the light to retreat. He trailed a hand absently along the inside side of the puzzle, his fingers buzzing with the rough feel of sand. He continued like this, navigating he impossible maze of stairs and doors until he came to a large stone tablet. The door to the outer world.

He pushed gently, expecting it to swing open at his barest touch.

It didn't move.

Yami frowned, anger bubbling up to conceal fear. He could list the reasons this door wouldn't open on one hand, and none of them boded well. Yugi could forcibly close it, but he had only ever done so under dire circumstances during their early years together. In retrospect, trying to kill Kaiba may have been a rash decision but at the time seemed reasonable.

The door would also remain closed if the Millenium Puzzle was stolen, or worse, destroyed. But it could not be the latter. Whenever the puzzle broke the room inside reflected that change, becoming even more disjointed. The thousands of staircases suddenly led to nowhere, the doors crumbled or floated in places where they could not be. Bricks danced across the sky and even Yami couldn't navigate the place, staying deep in his soulroom for fear of getting lost.

And it couldn't be the former for Yami could feel the presence of Yugi with in the very walls, dust shaking loose from it's ancient hidey holes as the beat of a heart ran through the puzzle. This was a new phenomena, one Yami had yet to tell Yugi of. As much as his hikari was fond of Yami he was still disconcerted by some of the ways the puzzle had affected him and terrified of what the Millenium items had done to the other bearers.

There was a lot Yami wasn't telling Yugi. When he materialized in spirit form he could touch the boy, something Yugi had attributed to neural illusion, falling to pseudo science to explain the phenomena. He could see Yami therefore his mind made him feel Yami, and vice versa when Yami was using the body. But it was more than that.

Yugi never noticed, probably because he was usually the one in control of the physical form, but Yami had discovered that with concentration he could move small objects. Not far and not with any sort of precision, but still, he could affect the physical world in spirit form.

He could also wander farther from the puzzle. Yugi knew this and it had served to their advantage on many occasions. But Yami could do so when Yugi slept. In years past Yami had been constricted to the puzzle when the body was at rest. Before Yugi had been realized Yami's existence he had been able to put his Aibou's mind to sleep, but he had not been able to leave the puzzle when the body itself was at rest, never mind exert control. Yet now he found he could, and without Yugi's awareness.

Not that he ever did. Yugi trusted him.

But now... Yami frowned, pressing his hand harder against the wall. There was something wrong. And he would rather have Yugi safe and angry with him than see the boy injure when he could have prevented it.

With a groan he threw his weight and his will against the door, feeling grimly satisfied as it opened with a shrieking moan.

He stepped into the hallway between the rooms, noting grimly that Yugi's door was shut. That door was never shut, not even when he slept.

With grim determination Yami stepped down the hallway, towards the body. It was time to figure out just what exactly was going on.

"Sir!" Kuzmin called, looking for his superior officer. Chesnokov turned, growling slightly as he mangled another cigar. With the intensity of which he did so Kuzmin had sinking certainty that that was the Lieutenant Colonel's last one. "Sir, I think he's waking up."

Sure enough, as Chesnokov approached the target's eyes slowly drifted open. "Are they bleeding?"

"No sir," Kuzmin shook his head, shining light in the kid's face. The boy winced, trying to shield his groggy scarlet eyes with hands that had been secured by plastic cuffs. Kuzmin batted them out of the way with ease, noting how weak the target was. Probably due to blood loss. "They appear to be just like that. Might be natural but is probably contacts." He waved the light again. "Pupils are a bit dilated. He probably has a concussion. It would best to keep him awake if we can."

"Who are you?" The boy slurred out his words in a calm voice, speaking English as his eyes were trying to focus on the faces in his swimming vision. No wonder Yugi's door was closed. The body was extensively injured. It needed rest, and badly. Yami could feel just how much of his energy it was taking to operate thing. He had maybe an hour, tops, before he exhausted his resources and was forced back into the puzzle to recoperate.

He heard the man in front of him gibbering away in an unknown tongue, the syllables bouncing across his lips. The man he was talking to just laughed, a harsh hollow sound. He patted Yami across the cheek, as though the Pharaoh had just told a good joke.

Yami's eyes narrowed. He hissed out a curse.

"What did he say?" Chesnokov asked, hoping that someone else had caught the boy's meaning.

Instead Kuzmin shook his head. "No idea sir. That wasn't English. Though by the tone I could hazard a guess."

Chesnokov smiled grimly. "So can I." Chesnokov checked his watch. Prokofiev hadn't signaled the team yet but it had already been a few hours. The hostiles should have realized that their team had shrunk by now. "Kuzmin, Baranov, it's time to move out. Take only what you can carry." Chesnokov wanted to be closer to the gate and since the target was conscious he felt confident that multiple moves weren't going to kill him. "We'll move behind the gate and follow the plan." Plus he wasn't sure how long it would take the Americans to organize a search and rescue plan.

***

"Sir, it's SG-1."

"Open the Iris." Hammond marched himself down to the gate room, entering as the last of the team strolled liesurly through the wormhole. Dust drifted off of the members with every step.

"Well, that was fun." Sarcasm fell from his voice the way dust fell from his hair. "Can we do it again?" O'Neill started hacking and coughing as clapped his hands together, making himself virtually invisible in a cloud off dust.

"I take it you didn't find anything." As much as Jack could wear on Hammond's nerves the General was glad for the sarcasm. When Jack was being serious it usually meant the coming of yet another apocalypse.

"Oh no sir. We found all sorts of things. Like sand. And dust. Did I mention dust? In fact sir, I'd-"

The activation of the Stargate silenced any further comments. Hammond was running back to the control room before the fourth chevron was encoded. "Do we have any teams due back?"

Sergeant Walter Harriman shook his head. "No sir. SG-10 is due back tomorrow and SG-13 the day after that." He studied his computer furiously, watching as the dial completed, waiting for the signs of allies. His computer flicked with one. "Sir, I'm reading SG-13's G.D.O. signal."

Hammond nodded. "Open the Iris." Walter's fingers were already flying over the controls.

The base watched with held breath as a figure ran out of the Stargate, stumbling and falling as the terrain shifted beneath his, her feet. Captain York used her momentum to roll, smoothly recovering her balance, unencumbered by the pack she had left back on the planet.

"Sir!" She saluted breathlessly, trying to give herself time to recover from her long.

"Captain where is the rest of your team?" Worry made his tone gruff. PX3-9G7 was supposed to have been an easy assignment, hence why Yugi Mutou had been put on it. The arrival of Elise and only Elise greatly disturbed the General.

"Sir," she bent over, trying to get more air, "Colonel Hutchenson is dead. Yugi Mutou is missing." She answered Hammond's question just as he opened his mouth to ask it. "He and Colonel Hutchenson had split from our team. Mike claimed he wanted to give the kid a few pointers on recon. When they didn't report back and we couldn't reach them on radio we went after them. We found Mike with his throat slashed sir." She paused, pressing down on the swell of emotion that threatened to engulf her. In less than a month they had lost two, possibly three members of SG-13. "Frank and I scouted the area. We found the kid's pack a little ways out. There was blood. Captain Samson volunteered to remain with," she swallowed, "with the body while I came back for reinforcements. Just in case Yugi came back."

Jack took a dusty step forward. "Sir, SG-1 volunteers for search and rescue." Behind him all of his team nodded, all of them bearing the guilt of having gotten Yugi involved with the SGC in the first place.

Hammond nodded. "You, SG-9 and SG-4 are to handle this. I want everyone in the briefing room in fifteen minutes."

Daniel took off his boonie hat, shaking dust out of his long hair. "I thought PX3-9G7 wasn't inhabited."

Jack rolled his eyes and turned to the archeologist. For being a genius the man was really quite dense. "Well obviously we were wrong."

***

Kuzmin set down his charge. He pulled out his flashlight, checking to see if the package had gotten any worse. He clucked his tongue, noting that pupil dilation seemed to be about he same. The moment he let go of the boy's chin it sunk into his legs, his hands resting by his boot.

"And?" Chesnokov spat the word, his last cigar nothing more than shreds along the forest floor.

Kuzmin shrugged. "It's hard to tell. I think he's getting weaker, but his head injury doesn't seem to be getting worse." He heard a twig snap as Waldo shifted his weight. The man silent since Chesnokov had tuned him in. If Kuzmin had thought the brawny man capable of it he would have suspected that the Major was reflecting on his actions. But it was unlikely. Baranov had not been recruited because of his intelligence.

In the distance red ball climbed to the sky. Chesnokov swore. He had wanted to be closer. "Top pace team. Our window is closing as we speak." Then he took at a dead run, no longer caring how much noise he made. Waldo raced after him, leaving Kuzmin to deal with the captive.

He swung the body over his shoulder, glad the kid was small. He was light enough to carry with relative ease. Kuzmin heft the young man, adjusting the burden to better fit his shoulder.

Weakness blossomed his back. The Russian tried to take a step. Instead his knees buckled and he collapsed with a lurch. Yami rolled back, his boot knife slick with blood. He cursed as he saw that his captor was alive, just incapacitated. But judging by his the man's expression it wouldn't be a problem for long.

Yami stood, staggering sideways into the trees. He heard a crashing coming from the brush to his left. Yami cursed the stars, breaking out into as much as run as he could manage. He need would all the distance he could get.

***

Samson had seen the flare. He knew he had promised to wait with Mike, wait for help so they could figure out what happened, but this seemed more important.

"Sorry pal." He gently touched Hutchenson's forehead. "Looks like I'll have to leave you alone again."

***

God, he wished he had a cigar. Or tobacco. Or even gum. Hell he'd settle for a pencil at this point. He just needed something to chew on other than his tongue.

Or the stupid fucking tree branches. Chesnokov rolled his jaw, working out the sting. His hands were wrapped around his AK47 and his feet were padding through the forest. Waldo was back at the gate, explaining the delay to Prokofiev. Chesnokov didn't trust the Major not to go ape shit when they caught the target.

Not that Chesnokov was sure he could trust himself. Kuzmin was dead. He had survived long enogh to weakly point them in the right direction, to make Chesnokov promise to tell the man's wife he'd died in the line of duty. Then his bright eyes had dulled and his head had lolled to the side.

He cursed as another branch whipped into his face but pushed harder. He could hear the faint sound of branches snapping ahead of him.

***

Hammond nodded at the serious faces in front of him, ever one of them set with grim determination.

"Here's the situation. Colonel Mike Hutchenson is dead. Yugi Mutou is missing, presumed injured. Your mission is to find Mr. Mutou and bring him back safely. If that is impossible gather as much information as to what and why this happened. I want to know what we are dealing with here. Understood? Then dismissed."

***

Yami was breathing heavily, speeding through the woods as best he could through the waves of nausea and vertigo, his energy nearly gone. He stumbled as he broke through the tree line, hitting the ground and sliding across the grass, coming to a stop only a foot away from the edge of the cliff.

"Found you."

Yami twisted away from the cliff face, spotting the source of the voice. The man was older, forty at the youngest, and had graying hair, matching the stubble that dotted his chin. His accent was thin, barely detectable though his tone was rough. He kept moving his jaw as though gnawing on something only he could see.

In the fading light Yami caught a flash of metal.

"Stand up," the voice growled, keeping his gun level with Yami. Yami complied, swaying as he reached his feet. "Hands above your head."

Instead Yami crouched, placing his still bound hands in front of his body defensively, holding his knife so the back of the blade kissed his wrist.

"Drop your weapon!" Chesnokov raised the gun higher. "Do it or I'll shoot."

"And if I do drop the knife? What then?"

Chesnokov lower the gun a little. The voice was thin and exhausted. With his hands still cuffed there was no way he could get the drop of the Lieutenant Colonel. Plus it might help the kid feel a bit calmer. "We'll go back to Earth." He crooned, or at least tried to. Cuddly and friendly were not terms anyone would ever associate with the Russian. "They'll be a few people who want to talk to you and then you can go home to Japan."

Yami rolled the words around, trying to puzzle out what they actually meant in his weakened state. Even through the fog of a painful migraine Yami knew it was unlikely to be something good.

"Talk about what?" The world moved a little, shifting to the side. He was running out of time.

Chesnokov saw the target sway. He was willing to bet if he kept him talking the package would drop. Then he could snag him and complete this fucked up mission. "Just about things," he tried to keep his voice soft but it hurt to speak like that. "About how you can help every one. Protect everyone." He hid his relief as the knife dropped to the forest floor. "Now come here."

"No." Yami didn't risk shaking his head. Things were clicking into place. He wouldn't damn Yugi like this.

Chesnokov holstered his weapon and held out a hand. "Where else are you going to go?"

Crimson eyes flared at him and a thin smile slashed itself across the packages lips. Then Yami turned, throwing himself off of the cliff.

Chesnokov raced forward, looking down the immense drop, staring into treetops below.

"Fuck."

***

Prokofiev paced antsily. He hated the forest. He hated camping. He hated the fucking Stargate. And he hated being alone.

The batteries were set and ready. A single push of the button in his hand would cause the gate to overload, sending them back to Russia instead of the United States. The America, only one, had already disappeared through the gate. They were running out of time.

From the woods came an incredible crashing noise, like a beast of unimaginable sizes. Prokofiev dropped behind the Dial Home Device, for once glad of his slight figure. He clutched t his weapon, hoping he wouldn't he wouldn't have to use it.

"Captain?" Came the voice of a beast different than Prokofiev had expected.

He stood, rolling out from behind the alien tech. "Major!" His relief was cut short. "Major where is everyone else?"

Waldo shook his head. "Kuzmin is dead. Chesnokov is in pursuit of the target. The boy won't have gotten far."

"Shit, shit, shit! What am I supposed to do? We are running out of time. The Americans could be here any moment!"

As though summoned by his voice, the Stargate started to turn.

"Shit!"

***

"Chevron two, encoded." Walter's voice played over the PA.

"Listen up people!" Jack strode in front of the soldiers in the gate room, looking them up and down. "This is a rescue operation first and foremost. We have no idea what we are up against. We have no idea how many there are. We are flying blind here. Everyone stay on your guard, expect the unexpected, and for God's sake, try not to get yourselves killed."

"Chevron six," there was a pause. "Incoming wormhole!" Walter shouted.

"Move people!" Jack waved an arm and dodged to the side as the Stargate sprayed. The iris slammed shut with a click, leaving the SG members prepped for launch to stare.

"O'Neill," Teal'c lifted the Colonel off the ground. "That was indeed unexpected."

"I'll say." Jack brushed himself off. "Carter? What the hell happened?"

***

"What did you do?!" Waldo hissed, his voice edged in panic.

"I saved us from the Americans! That's what I did! Shit!" Prokofiev resumed pacing, watching the Stargate wary eye. "Shit!"

"How?"

Talking to Waldo was like talking to five year old with a head injury. Prokofiev yanked on his ear lobe, trying to think. Finally he came up with an analogy that maybe even Waldo could grasp. "Think of the Stargate like a train track, connected to many stations." Waldo nodded dubiously. "But there is only one track for all the trains, trains going in both directions." Waldo nodded again, a little more hesitantly. "When we dial home we tell the track which way to go. The track will only go one way, so the trains don't crash. Understand?" Waldo gave his chin one slow dip. "I called the switchboard first, telling them that our train was on the way so the Americans couldn't send theirs. And if we keep doing this we have all the time in the world to make it home."

Waldo looked at the Stargate skeptically. "If you say so."

"Shit!" His brilliance was wasted on Waldo.

***

"Damn!" Carter slammed the table in frustration. This was their second time dialing, their second time meeting with an incoming wormhole. Some one was trying to keep them from PX3-9G7 and they were a good job of it. She couldn't get the get to dial fast enough.

So the SGC sat and waited, watching the Iris with trepidation. So far there had been no thuds or bangs to suggest that something had become splattered on the inside, the only blessing in the situation. Beneath her, in the gate room below the control room, O'Neill shifted impatiently, practically ready to jump out of his skin.

Suddenly the incoming wormhole gave out. Carter was already dialing before she head Jack's orders to do so. As the computer turned she held her breath.

"Chevron one, encoded." She saw the time on the computer screen.

"Chevron two, encoded." That wormhole had been brief.

"Chevron three, encoded." Far less time than the one before it.

"Chevron four, encoded." Maybe something was wrong on the other side of the gate.

"Chevron five, encoded." She hoped everyone was all right.

"Chevron six, encoded." SG-1 should have taken Yugi. It was their fault he was here.

"Chevron seven, locked." If not for them-

Wait. Locked?

Sam looked up at the wormhole in front of her, staring in disbelief at the shimmering blue. She looked down at her computer.

"Carter?" Jack yelled from below.

"That one's ours sir! You are clear for go!" She slumped back in the chair, feeling the adrenaline leaving her system.

"About time," the Colonel mumbled under his breath. "Move out people!"

O'Neill was the first one through the gate.

It was always disconcerting, stepping through the gate, like walking through a door on one of those fashion commercials, the world going from winter to spring in an instant, the only real difference being that his outfit didn't change to match. But everything else always did.

Bullets ripped through the air, the sound of guns like thunder. O'Neill saw the body that lay across the D.H.D, the rivers of blood that ran down the base of the machine, the dark red mingling with the dull blue for eerie effect in the darkening twilight.

All this registered in mere seconds. The focus of O'Neill's attention was the man with the gun, firing frantically in the bushes. Friend or foe? What was he shooting at? Human, alien?

All these questions fled his mind when the man turned his gun on the incoming travelers.

O'Neill squeezed the trigger of his P90, the gun jumping to life under his touch, spraying bullets, bullets that slammed and tore into the man, forcing him to drop his weapon in a mist of blood. In the growing dimness O'Neill could still see the bloody surprise melt into a vacant stare, the body slumping to the ground with a soft squelch.

For seconds there was silence.

"Secure the area!" Jack waved for them men to split off, to get a good look around. Everyone kept their gun ready, bouncing it at shadows as they circled the perimeter.

Jack swung over to the corpse on the D.H.D. His barest touch caused the body to slide from its gruesome alter, landing on the ground with a sickening thud. Jack frowned, not recognizing the face. His expression turned grim as he recognized the steel blue uniform.

"Colonel, over here!" Captain Bates waved frantically from the tree line. Jack could see the corpse Bates stood over. He lowered himself to knees, preparing himself for more bad news.

Instead, the corpse gave a bloody salute. "Sir!" Captain Samson was still breathing, but it sounded wet, frothy. Blood trickled down from various wounds. "Sir," the soldier gasped out, "they were dialing the gate. At first I didn't realize why. But then I knew it was you. So I broke cover. I got the drop on them sir. But they-" His explanation was cut short by a bloody cough.

"Save it Captain." Jack ordered the man into silence. "Daniel? Dial the gate home! The captain needs medical attention. I want half of SG-4 to remain here to guard the gate. The other half is to escort Captain Samson back, and take these bodies with you. SG-1 and SG-9 are to scout the area. We've got a man to find."

"Wait sir," Samson gasped out. "There's more."

Jack shook his head. "I thought I ordered you to shut the hell up. Tell them after they've got a few stitches in you."

Samson shook his head desperately. "Sir," he wheezed, "there's more of them." He nodded vaguely to the clearing where the Stargate rested.

"Ah," Jack registered his point. He patted his P90. There were going to be a few less if he had his way.

***

He had heard the gunfire.

It had echoed through the forest, silencing the soft twitter birds, a deafening thunder without rain. The only sound louder was that of his beating heart, trying to pound through his chest, raging at the sheer idiocy of the universe.

A simple assignment. Go camping for a week. Enjoy some sun, some fresh air, then a do a little retrieval. Every thing was supposed to have been fine, been easy.

Yeah fucking right. Kuzmin was dead. The package was dead. Now someone else was dead.

He slowed as the gunfire abated, leaving a deaf silence in its shadow. Slowed but didn't stop. No matter what the outcome, he had only one choice. He had to make it to the Stargate, to get home and out of this nightmare. His men would be fine. They were smart. Well, Prokofiev was smart. Waldo just was.

So Chesnokov cut through the night, sliding across the forest, focused on his destination. The Stargate had to be close.

"Freeze!"

Yes, it was close.

***

"Anything?"

"No sir," Captain York shook her head, a motion invisible in the darkness. It had taken over an hour to find Colonel Hutchenson's body and in O'Neill's mind, more questions were raised than answered.

Questions like why Hutchenson had two handguns as well as his P90, why he had two radios and why the knife on the ground wasn't covered in blood. Why all his magazines were full. The more Jack looked at this the more suspicious the situation was becoming.

"Okay people," Jack shouted, loud enough for both teams to hear him, "We're gonna make camp.

"Colonel O'Neill?" It wasn't that Colonel Trembley was willing to question Jack's authority, but he had been in combat, he had seen these types of situations. Time was of the essence.

"We don't know where the kid went, we don't have a direction to start looking, and we can't see anything. Better to wait, see things with fresh eyes so we can look in the right direction. We won't do any good if we end up on the wrong side of the planet."

"Yes sir!" Trembley saluted. He was new to the rank of Colonel. Old habits died hard. "SG-9 volunteers for first watch."

Jack nodded then went back to staring. Daybreak was probably going to shed light on some pretty ugly answers.

********

AN

Hikari means light. Yami means darkness.

Russian names are fun ^^

KUZMIN! NO! He was my favorite of all the Russians and now he's… he's *sob* HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?! Seriously! I liked him.

On a more serious note. Review. Seriously. I'm feeling a bit depressed and I find nothing helps me write like a good review, or a bad review. Criticism is welcomed. If I continue to get no reviews I will be forced to borrow Wayne Brady. You has been warned


	10. Through the Gate prt 3

"How many times have I told you not to stray?"

"But Papa, I didn't think-"

"Of course you didn't! Neither of you do! I do not—the village does not lay down these rules just to thwart you. How long would you have wandered the forest had I not found you?" Giadus grumbled angrily and scanned the side of the cliff for any sort of shelter. In truth, fear fuelled his harsh words. He had heard the strange thunder, recognized the direction it came from. He knew of the danger they might face; he and his children needed to get back to village at first light, but he could not risk sleeping out in the open. Not without knowing what had stepped through the Great Circle. It shook him to the core to know how close the twins had come to find the cursed object.

"Papa, you're hurting me."

He could hear the fear creeping into Merta's voice as he pulled her along. Good. Maybe for once she would realize that her actions had consequences. He knew his daughter well enough to know that she had badgered and browbeaten Kaius into coming. He loved Merta, but was by no means blind to her failings. He knew he had spoiled her after the death of his wife, but he hadn't been able to stand the sight of tears. "Papa, I want to rest. I am tired," she sniffed, wiping at her face.

He was stronger now.

"Come Merta, we need to go faster." He heard a grunt and the snapping of a branch from his back. "Kaius? Are you well?"

"Sorry Papa. I stumbled."

"Hurry." He knew Kaius would heed. The boy was the opposite of Merta, quiet and shy where she was loud and ostentatious, and practical where she had flights of fancy. More importantly, he listened. He knew of their danger. If only the child had more backbone this would not have happened.

The three of them weaved through the edge of the forest, scanned the cliff over for entrances, and returned to the cover of trees when they found none. Together, they raced against the oncoming night for shelter.

"Iya!" Kaius cried out as he stumbled again and winced as pine needles dug deep into the palms of his hands. He rolled, rubbing his hands against his tunic to brush them off, and frowned as the material began to stick to his palms. He rubbed his hands together, trying get rid of the tree sap, spitting to help clean them.

When the task had been finished as best it could he began probing the ground, searching for the object he had tripped over so he could doing so again. He cursed under his breath as his fingers touched yet more sap, the substance causing dirt to stick to their tips, but kept up his search. He would clean his hands when he was done.

Then he felt something hairy.

He clamped down on his tongue to keep from crying out again. The last thing he needed was Merta shifting the story so it was about him being afraid of the dark, or dead squirrels or how ever she would. Steadying his nerves, he went back to his investigating, his fingers brushing against hair, then skin. Finally they found a feature that identified the animal.

"Papa!" He cried out louder than was wise.

Then realization struck.

There was no sap.

"PAPA!"

***

"O'Neill." Teal'c's voice cut through the forest like a knife through hot butter, clearly reaching the Colonel's ears.

Jack huffed a bit as e got to his feet, dropping the greenery he had picked and stretching out his knees to hide his growing frustration. They had begun the search at first light and found nothing. But that was the good news. The real trouble was brewing in the sky. The dark clouds that had been gathering since dawn were beginning to rumble, threatening to wash away all signs of what had happened.

Jack patted his gun, stalking through forest, trying to relieve the growing tension. He was just stiff from sleeping in a forest. That's all. Just from the forest.

"O'Neill," the large Jaffa nodded as the man approached, "I have located a clue as to what happened to Yugi Mutou." He didn't sound happy about it. Well, Teal'c never sounded happy, but it was unusual for him to sound _this_ unhappy.

Jack followed Teal'c's line of vision.

"Ah, Dammit!" Jack sunk to his knees, staring down, then looking back up at the tree. "Dammit," he whispered again.

"It appears to be blood."

"Yeah, Teal'c, I can see that." Jack took of his cap, wiping it against his brow. Blood had crusted to the rough bark, the russet color beginning to fade. There wasn't much on the tree, but there was enough. More had splashed across the soft moss of the forest floor. A lot more. He slipped his hat back on, trying to put a positive spin on this. At least the blood would leave some sort of trail for them to follow, give them a direction to follow.

A single raindrop threw itself down from the heavens, splattering against the Jack's hat—a sentry for all the drops about to follow.

***

The wind shrieked through the trees, rooting up leaves and other debris while the rain came down in curtains, enshrouding the forest. Animals dove for cover and those unwise or unlucky enough to have not found any suffered the wrath of the storm. Lightening rent the sky in twain as thunder shook the sky, the forest shivering beneath the storm.

He pressed himself against the tree, struggling as the avaricious fingers of the wind snatched at his clothes, trying to tear the soaking garments from his numb body. Even under the pine, the rain drizzled down like a million waterfalls caught on an emerald mountain.

He tucked his chin deeper into his coat, shivering to try and get warm. The only heat came from his temper, which was roaring at full blast. _Someone_ was going to pay for this. He would make sure of that.

***

"Okay, sir." Sam's voice crackled through the radio. "Have everybody stand back."

Jack waved his hand and the pathetic, shivering figures around him cleared the gate. Seconds later the U. A. V. buzzed through the gate. Jack turned, watched as it struggled to rise into the sky.

The small plane screamed as the wind tore and jostled it like a plastic bag before slamming it into a tree. Its small fuselage snapped and debris scattered every which way in the violent breeze.

"Carter!" Jack's tone was tense, edgy.

"I'm sorry sir!" Sam bit her lip with distress. "The winds are too strong! We don't have anything built for these conditions!"

"Then build something!" Jack snapped into the device. "Dammit, Carter, we've got a man in this! He's unarmed and injured! We need you to come up with something!"

He bit back another curse as the voice broke through the radio again. This one was filled with much more twang than the Major's. "Colonel, there is nothing we can do. You're orders are to guard the gate. We'll send supplies through to make this easier, but you and your people are going to have to wait out the storm if you are to have any hope of finding Mr. Mutou."

"General Hammond!"

"Jack," the General sighed, "I understand, but I don't want to have to send a team through to rescue you. Sit tight and we'll send another U.A.V. when the weather clears."

Jack swore as the gate blipped out and cut off contact with his home world. He didn't have time for this! Yugi didn't have time for this! The kid was out there bleeding somewhere.

And it was his fault.

Jack bit his tongue as bitter guilt swept over him. The kid should have never been involved. He should have gone home, back to his people, to his friends. He could have snuck the kid out from SG-1's nose before the negotiations had started, handed the boy over to the allies who obviously had enough power to hide the kid. Even afterwards there had been many opportunities to set things right.

Instead he had made things worse. Jack had been the one to push Hammond into giving the kid a chance in the field. It hadn't been hard to badger the General into it. Jack had known George for a long time. He knew the man's buttons. And he had pushed mercilessly to get what he thought was right. If the SGC was going to steal this kid's future it should at least have given him something amazing in return. The kid was obviously clever, his little stunt with Daniel had proven that, and when people weren't trying to destroy his life he seemed friendly. Hell he was downright chipper. And the kid was Goa'uld proof. He was already immune to one of the greatest threats in the galaxy. It made him a perfect field agent.

Jack's first doubts about whether this was the right course—whether he had done this for the kid or if he had merely done it to assuage his own conscience—had come the first time he had checked on his progress at Basic Training. The report that flitted its way into his hands was filled with concerns about Yugi's balance. Angry scribbles recounted every instance where the kid's clumsiness had reared its ugly head, every time the boy and tripped and fallen and thus endangered his fellow recruits.

It hadn't been hard to figure out what was going on. After all, Jack saw Yugi all the time. The boy was living on base; a condition set forth so none of his allies took the liberty of taking him home. The kid was nothing if not graceful, his small frame constantly ducking and dancing out of the way of those who didn't notice him. The boy moved with the grace of cat.

But Jack had once again found himself unable to do anything for the newest member on base. He met the kid at the mess hall, asking for updates from the boy himself whenever he had the chance. The kid had nothing but good news. He was making friends, he was doing well, he had managed to make it through a few more mission reports. He said nothing bad about anything.

So Jack had helped the only way he could. And it had helped a bit. He had seen how brightly Yugi had lit up at the graduation ceremonies, shaking off the shadows that had plagued him at the sight of Colonel, who had made sure to dress in his nicest uniform, wearing all of his medals. He even went to the trouble of polishing a few.

Jack shook his head, rain sloshing off the brim of his hat. He hadn't done enough. The kid was out there. He was probably freezing, probably in the hands of some Russian thug. Jack had a full clip for whichever bastard had leaked word of the kid and he intended to empty it at the soonest available opportunity. But first Jack had to find the kid. He would. And the kid was going to be all right. He had to be.

Jack didn't want another pointless death on his conscience.

***

He could feel the hands dancing across his frigid skin. It was only through their warmth that he even realized that he was cold, the tips leaving little puddles of heat that were quickly dissolved by his body's dropping temperature.

The fingers dissolved into a rough material, one that rubbed itself against his delicate frame. The material soon vanished. Once again he was aware of heat. It licked at him. But even as it warmed his out his in was left cold.

He shivered.

The movement filled his body with sensation. Heat burst from his knee, from his wrist, from the various cut and scrapes along his face. Pain. Pain he could handle. Pain was familiar. Pain helped explain what was going on.

That's right. He had been attacked. Yami had fought the man.

Yami!

The thought sent the boy careening back to reality. His mind blindly groped for the spirit as his fists wildly swung at the hands grasping him. Panic set in with realization.

*Yami!* His mind screamed, searching for the door to the spirit's room. He could feel the rough hands grabbing at him, trying to restrain him. His retreated, desperately wrapping themselves around the millennium puzzle. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be safe.

Voices. He could hear voices. He yelled at them in his own tongue, just wanting them to go away. A hand touched his naked chest. Tears leaked from his closed lids, eyes scrunched tight as he frantically soul searched. He threw them open when a cup touched his lips.

"No! Let got! Please! Stop please! Yami! Yami help!"

The faces around him were pitiless smudges. He could feel the contents of the cup being tipped into his mouth; taste the bitter liquid as it burned down his throat. Hands held his head so he couldn't twist, couldn't spit out the vile concoction.

As he swallowed he felt the world dissolve. Desperately he called out one more time.

"Atem!"

Not even the shadows answered.

****

Yeah, I used the word twain. Made my day. ;p

U. A. V.-Unmanned airborne vehicle.

This chapter is a bit shorter than the rest. I just couldn't pick up where I needed it and leave it the same chapter. C'est la vie. I'm sure you'll cope. On that note I've also been trying to recheck my work. I reposted the last few chapters sans grammar errors (most of them anyway) and would like to apologize for them.

Oh-REVIEW! I know you're out there. This site does have a traffic record. You keep favorting and adding to your alerts. Review please. I live for feedback! Even if it's negative! As long as it's intelligible!

For those of you that have, thank you very much! As you can see it make me more productive! I'll try to have the next chap up soon. See you there!


	11. Through the Gate prt 4

Rain pelted the side of the building, tapping deceptively soft against the wooden walls of the shelter. The wind had died down, finally, but it would be back again. The Wise Woman had been predicting this storm for almost a week but had been ambigious about when it would end. Even in the midst of adolescence Kaius knew what that meant.

Not anytime soon.

The body beside his shivered; Kaius adjusted his position in response. He wrapped his arm around the figure gently, pressing his chest against the others to produce heat. He snuggled as close as he could without injuring the other.

It was harder said than done. I'Eda had cursed when Giadus has stormed into the healer's hut. She had been prepared, knowing that even if Merta and Kaius had not been injured in the forest that the storm would have taken its toll. Still, the excessive injuries of the foundling had had even her pursing her lips, yelling for the help of as many hands as were available.

They had been needed.

The child had woken soon after being stripped of his soaked garments. He had struggled, obviously unaware that he had been brought to safety, clutching his strange pendant as though it was the lifeline of a drowning man. The boy's nonsensical pleading had bleached the face of even the most stoic warriors while they struggled to hold on to his twisting figure without adding to his injuries. Though the healer had been grateful for the opportunity to give the child medicine for the wound on his skull she had to admit that the entire situation disturbed her. The Kalli valued their youth. To see that someone had purposely gone about hurting the boy… It was incomprehensible.

Kaius shifted again as the figure gave a pitiful moan, sacrificing his own comfort for the sake of his charge. He had been left to guard the boy, everyone hoping at the strange child would feel safer waking in the presence of someone closer to his own age and Kaius was taking his duty very seriously, feeling responsible for the boy he had stumbled across. He had moved from his place beside the fire to the bed the boy had been tucked into, hoping that his own body heat would prevent fever from taking hold of the delicate form. But as the minutes bled into hours, his honey-brown eyes glazed as they studied their subject, the hopes of the mind struggling against the will of an already stressed body.

And he was so warm…

***

His face tickled.

The thought caused him to crinkle his nose. Yami must have decided to sleep in his soul room again, the spirit often deciding it was the most efficient way to comfort the youth. And as much as Yugi did find comfort in the Pharaoh's embrace he was still frustrated when the idiosyncrcies of the other woke him. He could feel the soft breeze of the other's sleep stirring his hair, the offending bangs rubbing lightly against his cheek.

Yugi smiled, moving a hand to tuck the offending lock behind his ear, not wanting to disturb his partner's rest.

The smile vanished.

Pain shot through his arm as his wrist snagged onto the tightly tucked blanket. But that wasn't right. There was no pain in the soul room. None physical anyway. Which meant that this _couldn't_ be the soul room. Which mean that that wasn't Yami.

He bolted, twisting to the side and squeaking in pain and surprise as his body slammed into a wall. The he hissed as the jarring impact revebrated throughout, awaking more wounds. He flopped weakly onto his back, the room titling strangely.

A face floated above his head, light eyes filled with wary concern. He could feel hands gently pushing against his shoulders, pinning him to the bed. A soft voice floated around him, whispering words that teased at the edge of his consciousness, mocking his inability to understand as he fought his own confusion.

He tensed as the hands left his shoulders, floating down his arm and pulling him into a soft embrace. As a finger gently pressed itself against his lip his mind filled with self-disgust. He had been begging. Yami would never beg.

_Yami…_ He could feel the weight of the spirit's presence but could not touch his mind. The only explanation for it was exhaustion. Yugi could count the number of times, the latest instance included, where Yami had had to retreat so fully to the puzzle to recover from exhaustion on one hand and still have fingers to spare. That left Yugi alone to deal with this, his darker side needing to take care of himself, and with a broken body Yugi couldn't do much. Tears of hot frustration pricked at his eyes as he fully realized his own helplessness, his own weakness. His body trembled with fear and gasped for air, panic beginning to set in.

"Hush. All will be well. I will not hurt you little one." Kaius pulled the boy closer, hoping his intentions, or lack there of, were being understood. He ran a comforting hand through the boy's strange hair, his fingers dancing through a softness he had not expected.

He heard the child bite back a sob. Kaius let his hand move down the boy's skull, gently guiding it to his shoulder, curling himself around the smaller boy. He rocked his body back and forth.

It was the kindness that finished off the last of Yugi's composure. He leaned into the embrace of the other, the fingers of one hand tangling deeply into the rough cloth of the other clothes. He sobbed out ragged gasps, his anger and confusion soaking into Kaius's shirt as his body purged itself the day's horrors.

It was infinity before he could suck in a shaky breath, his mind filling in as many details as it dared. He was injured. Badly. His one wrist had been splinted and he could feel the jagged ache of scratches along his neck and arm. The salty tears had helped map the injury to his face, shallow cuts and swelling. By the spinning of the room there was definitely a serious head injury. Lower down one of his legs was useless, the reason why still a mystery. Pain shot through the limb but the origin was difficult to locate. The good news was that he was clothed, though the material was unfamiliar, and he still had the puzzle, though Yami showed no signs of life.

He was on a bed, one with a simple wooden frame in a room with completely wooden walls. The sight was unexpected but not unwelcome. Yugi could have broken into another round of tears from the sheer relief that he hadn't been carted off to a prison cell, or worse, a medical lab by the man he had met in the forest. He shuddered, trying to block out his thoughts as they raced through what the Russian wanted.

Russian. It had been a shock, hearing the voice. He had recognized the accent only because of Nicolae, one of the men involved in Isis's dig. Nicolae had been easy going and all too willing to regale all with the captivating tales of his homeland. The accent had been odd enough to find in Egypt. Finding it on another planet had just been surreal.

He became aware of the gentle murmurs of the one who was cradling him, words pouring like a gentle rain trying to wash dirt from a child's skin. Reality grounded Yugi. He cringed at his shameful display. He had far better things to be doing than weeping like a helpless child, no matter how he felt. He needed to hold things together at least until Yami woke.

Slowly, wary of his own wounds, Yugi pushed himself away from the person holding him. The arms encircling him stiffened in reflex, relaxing only as he increased the pressure he applied against the soaked shirt. Yugi gasped as the body moved out from underneath him, pain flaring across the board. He inhaled deeply though slowly, the breathing washing away the agony.

Finally, with a tentative control back in his grasp, Yugi turned to look at his companion.

It was a boy, definitely in his teens. If forced to sum him up in a single word Yugi would have jumped to brown. He had straight brown hair that had been trimmed to match his jaw line. Large golden eyes stared soulfully from under knitted brows. His complexion was hard to pin, the dark skin could easily be something he had been born with or a tan that had been carefully cultivated over the seasons. The boy was tall and still trapped in the lanky years of adolescence but his body promised to build itself into a solid figure. It would not have enough girth for him to be considered burly but he would not be considered slender either.

"Are you well now?" Yugi blinked at the question. It had been asked in English, but the accent was strange, stress being placed on all the wrong syllables. Still, it was English.

Yugi nodded. "Hai. I am well now. Thank you."

The teenager's eyes widened with shock and a grin split his lips. "You speak? You understand?" The dark youth bounced at the revelation. He stiffened suddenly, propelling himself gracefully of the bed and giving a deep bow. "I am Kaius, son of Giadus, and I offer you welcome. May the forest cradle you."

Yugi ducked his head, the best of a bow he could manage in his current state. "I am Yugi, Kaius-san, and I am honored to meet you." He winced as his companion looked startled, and cursed his own ineptitude. The greeting was probably a ritual of some kind, one that he had just mangled. Great. Hi, thanks for helping me, patching me up and all that, now watch as I make a mockery of all your customs. Pathetic.

Kaius's eyes shone, but hardly with disgust. He bowed again. "I am honored to meet you Yugi." Yes, the boy had been nontraditional in his response, but along with his strangely pale skin and odd accent it could only mean one thing. The boy had come through the Great Circle.

Though the thought normally sent a shiver of fear up his spine Kaius felt all too calm about the assessment. It was hard to be scared of the wide violet eyes that watched him with wonder.

***

"Papa!" Merta flounced into the room, her dark hair hanging wildly as water ran off the ends. She shook herself violently, her cloak spraying water across the room. Then she continued what was soon to be her latest tantrum. "Papa!" Giadus winced as his daughter screeched, "Papa, Kaius won't let me play with the foundling!"

Pia, the village Wise Woman chuckled dryly at the teenager's antics. "Perhaps," her voice rasped like dried leaves, "it is because you snap twigs as the birds nest."

Merta just rolled her eyes at the crazy woman. The only good thing Pia had done was finally predict the end of this wretched storm. She pinned her eyes on her father, the black iris's a direct contrast to her brothers. "Papa! Make him let me play!"

Giadus pinched the bridge of his nose. "What exactly did your brother say?"

Merta tossed her soppy mane back, jutting out a full lip. If the fifteen year old could quit acting like she was five she would marry well. She opened her dark eyes wide, trying look cuter. On her maturing face it just looked bizarre. "He said I couldn't see him." He could hear as she tried to force a sob into her voice.

"Couldn't see him when?"

"Ever! He said I was too hard on the foundling!" The girl stomped her foot in consternation. "_He _said that_ I_ had to go away! It's not fair!" The girl wailed, her voice joining the cutting wind.

Giadus snapped his jaw shut with a click. Kaius? Stand up to his sister? It seemed as though strange occurances were raining from the sky. He rubbed his hands together, more for the sake of movement than due to any chill.

"Papa! I want to see the foundling!"

He shook his head. "No." Merta's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Kaius was placed in charge of Yugi," he dropped the name because his daughter hadn't, "therefore it is he who decides."

"But he let Marvo and Tsi-Tsi go-"

Giadus raised a hand, silencing his daughter. It was time she learned that the woods would grow without her. "Your brother had final say." His tone brooked no argument.

Merta glared at her father. She tossed her back and spun, sniffing as she marched back out into the storm.

Behind him Pia clucked and rolled her eyes. "If you build a dam the river will still flow."

Giadus turned, taking the old woman respectfully by the hand. "But we must try."

Pia gave the hunter a shrewd look. It broke into an approving grin.

"Aye. That we must."

***

He was shivering.

It was a mild term to describe the violent shaking that wracked his body. It had rained for week, the water pouring as though the sky was made of ocean. He had had to ration his already low supplies, his only comfort the meager fire he had managed to build in the shelter of a pine tree. But even then it had gone out, there being no dry wood to sustain it. So he had been trapped, his rage his primary form of sustenance.

But now he had a new one. The first rays of sunshine had broken through the tops of the wood, the delicate lines of light already warming the forest floor. And as his body was slowly charged by the sun he heard the familiar whine of an engine. He couldn't help but grin as the U. A. V. that had been circling for hours made a straight line back to the gate. He measured the direction it had come from, stretching out his aching muscles with grim determination.

Someone would pay.

* * *

AN-Thanks for the reviews, and thanks for the grammar tips! They've been useful. Man, this arc was supposed to be 3 chapters... -.-()

* * *


	12. Through the Gate prt 5

"Wait!" Yugi giggled breathlessly. Marvo danced ahead of him. The child was young, maybe seven, and was in love with the entire world. The boy flitted from building to building, making sure to touch the side of every structure as he passed. Even the redundancy of his path did not slow him down enough for Yugi to catch up.

The crude crutch he worked was by no means a substitute for his injured leg, his braced knee still unable to bear any weight. It would be weeks before the dislocated joint would be anywhere near healed. The only reason he had even been allowed out of bed was because he had stared wide eyed at the doctor until she had conceded, allowing him to finally roam the village that had rescued him, but only in the company of his self-proclaimed honor guard.

Tsi-Tsi swooped in, throwing Marvo over her shoulder. In a year she would have her majority, making her the oldest of the youths Yugi had met. She grinned. It was the only way to name the expression that flicked across her face, reminding Yugi of Jonouchi in his high school days. Marvo giggled in her grip, trying to squirm his way out as she tucked him under her arm like a bundle of wood.

"Ah!" Yugi squeaked as his rude tool caught the edge of a pothole, pitching the boy backward. Warm hands caught him, holding him until he was able to find his balance. He flashed a smile. "Arigato Kaius-san!"

Kaius smiled shyly but offered no more than that. He was a quiet boy; only truly willing to speak when they were in private. Then he was a pit of curiosity, asking about everything that he could think of. Yugi had answered all that he could, volunteering to tell stories of his friends and of his people when the questions had run dry. He mainly stuck to the antics of Jonouchi and Honda. Kaius's favorite still seemed to be the time that Hirutani's gang had been defeated by the awesome might of the yo-yo.

Yugi found the memories bittersweet.

He had known the risks of going through the Stargate when he accepted the position of field agent. He knew he should have taken greater of himself, been more cautious. Giadus, Kaius's burly father, had offered to take him to explore the Great Circle when Yugi had healed well enough to make the journey. The cliff that he had supposedly fallen off us was too steep to climb, meaning that they would have to take a rather long and seldom used trail to the Stargate. Not that Yugi held out much hope. Without his G. D. O. he couldn't make it home.

If only Yami were around.

Together they could think of a plan. But the spirit was still silent. The first time Yugi had attempted to enter the puzzle he had found the door chained shut. It had been nerve-racking, but it had happened before, especially when Yami had over extended himself. So Yugi waited for the spirit to recover his strength.

Yet days later Yugi had still been unable to enter the puzzle, instead finding it locked from the inside. He had banged on the door but Yami had not answered. The silence scared Yugi. Something had happened when he was unconscious. Something only Yami knew about. The more time that went by the more unnerved Yugi was by the silence.

Maybe Yami hated him. If Yugi hadn't agreed, if he hadn't _suggested_ taking a job here, none of this would have happened. Instead they would be playing in the sand with Isis, or dodging the media with Kaiba. Yami would be within his right to hate Yugi. The boy had screwed everything up… again. He was always messing up; first in Japan, then Egypt, and now over half way across the galaxy. It was pathetic beyond measure.

"Yugi?" The amethyst-eyed youth blinked up at Kaius, the question pulling him out of his dark brooding. Kaius put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, guessing at his thoughts. "Do not worry Yugi. We will get you home to your family soon." Kaius frowned at his own statement, twisting around to look for something that was not there.

His family. Yugi thought of the dark door and sighed, praying to whatever gods were listening that the boy was right.

***

Cursing and the crunching of branches disturbed the calm of the forest, birds going silent in the wake of the violent noise. The cursing became an aggravated shriek as her cloak tore on a branch.

Merta kicked at the offending tree, berating herself for wearing her good shawl. She had just grabbed the nearest one, making some excuse of gathering berries before looping around the clearing the village was in and picking up where she and Kaius had last left off.

Kaius. Her little brother was so stupid! How dare he thwart her attempts to get to the foundling! Merta was certain the boy knew the secret of the Great Circle. And he had the same timid look as her twin. She could have brow beaten the boy into revealing what he knew. Then she could have gone on a grand adventure, finding a foreign prince who was enamored with her beauty. She could have lived a life of luxury instead of one of toil in this stupid forest!

Instead she had to try and find the artifact on her own. Again. At least she and Kaius had marked their path. She was moving faster than she had with him and the crazy old hag who predicted the weather had said there would be clear skies for a few days. By the time they noticed she was gone she should have found what she was looking for.

If the stupid forest would quit getting her way. She cursed at another tree as her dark hair snagged. She swore as the hairs tore, ruining her perfect haircut.

Her first awareness of not being alone came from the hand that wrapped itself in front of her mouth.

***

"Awe," Tsi-Tsi groaned, staring down at the Saxuus board with dismay. Black pieces gleamed in the sun, walking up at her as though mocking her defeat. "Are you _certain_ you've never played this before?

Yugi stared back innocently. "I am certain."

A low whistle erupted from beside his shoulder. "I find that difficult to believe." Kaius started down at the board, hard. "You defeated Tsi-Tsi most thoroughly." His quiet voice held shock and maybe a little bit of awe.

"Beginner's luck!" The proclamation settled Tsi-Tsi, though she did not for a moment believe it. Yugi looked too innocent for his own good. There had to be something more going on. "Kaius," an idea came like a flash of light, "go get Pia."

Kaius was off like a shot, leaving Yugi to be glowered at by Tsi-Tsi who was still attempting to reconcile her defeat with reality. He shifted uncomfortably. "Who is Pia?" Tsi-Tsi just grinned and double tapped the side of her nose. Yugi sighed and began resetting the board.

It didn't take long for Kaius to return with an old woman in tow. She wore her age with grace, her back unbent by the burden of her years and her silver hair trapped into a braid and wrapped around her skull like a crown. She twittered as she moved, her lips making soft calls that sounded like no bird. Kaius pulled her along, her following like a complacent child. As the woman approached Tsi-Tsi stood, bowing and offering her place to the woman who took it without a sound.

Yugi swung his legs, trying to channel his nervousness into movement. The woman was obviously important, that much was obvious, but if it was just because of her age or for some other reason it was impossible to tell. He was about to offer her a greeting when his breath hitched.

She had the deepest eyes Yugi had ever seen. He gripped on to the edges of his chair, trying to ward off the feeling of being sucked into the dark pools. They seemed to swirl down into infinity.

"Hello!" Yugi blinked, startled by the hoarse voice that greeted him.

"Hello…" Under the table he wrung his hands, wishing for the millionth time that day that Yami were awake.

Tsi-Tsi cut in. "Mistress Pia, this is Yugi. Yugi, this is Mistress Pia, the Wise Woman of our village." She waited until they both nodded at each other before continuing. "Mistress Pia is the best Saxuus player in the village." She smiled wolfishly at Yugi. "Yugi here has had some instruction but would be pleased if you could better teach him."

Mistress Pia let out a bark of laughter. "I cannot teach a bird to fly." Once gnarled hand reached into the container of stones, setting it on the board with an audible click. "But we may see who soars higher."

Yugi picked up a stone from his tray. Despite her cryptic words Yugi understood. She was taking him seriously. It was only fair that he did the same. He placed the stone down silently.

"Your move."

***

Silence stretched on as the last piece settled onto the board with gentle click. It held as the crowd creating it began to try to figure out what it was that the competitors already knew. Yugi and Pia just stared at each other, both aware of the victor, both aware of the strength of the other's game.

"By the Spirits," Giadus swore softly. "Yugi, are you certain you have never played this game before?"

Giadus glanced down into hurt amethyst eyes. "Of course I am certain," the boy muttered, "And I would tell you if I had."

Pia let out a rasping laugh. "It is I who is wrong. I did not challenge a bird, I challenged the wind." The twinkle in her eye faded as she stared at the boy. "But the wind needs the earth as the earth needs the wind."

Behind him a villager snorted. Other broke into giggles. It was obvious most of the villagers had learned not to take the woman's confused rambles seriously.

It was their loss.

"So how does the wind gather the earth?" Yugi stared into the knowing eyes. He had dealt with too many strange things in his short life to pass this off. All advice was worth hearing.

Pia raised an eyebrow in approval. "One grain at a time."

Yugi opened his mouth.

"Giadus, Giadus!" A man raced up the path, waving frantically. "There are strangers approaching the village! They are armed! The Elders want you in the square!" The man paused, gasping for breath, his eyes tense. His frantic shout dropped into a fearful murmur. "They have Merta with them."

Gaidus's face drained of color. His hands shook. He glared at the assembled villagers. Then began barking orders. "You! Get all the women inside. You, you and you, do the same with the children. You, escort Mistress Pia. You, take me to the Elders."

"Giadus-san, please wait!" Yugi cried out as he struggled to rise, trying to maneuver his crutch around the board. The large hunter spun, but instead of speaking with Yugi he nodded to one of his men. The turned again hurrying into the distance. Before Yugi had time to call again a pair of strong hands was lifting his light figure. Someone else was pulling his cane out of his grasp. He squawked but was helpless in their grasp. As he was carried into a hut he glared at Kaius. The youth just clutched Yugi's crutch closer then shrugged.

***

Daniel gaped.

"Look at the construction of the buildings! It looks as though they are using some sort of adhesive to bind the walls together. And look at the carvings! See that! That looks to be a depiction of the Goddess Diana! These people obviously have ties to Earth but I don't see any references to Goa'uld. Over there there seems to be some kind of forge. They have metal working-"

"Daniel?"

"Yes Jack?"

"Shut up."

Wisely, Daniel picked self-preservation over pride. As they had approached the village Jack's patience had been in steady decline. It might have had to do with the stress of a search and rescue mission. It might have had to do with the growing suspicion that Colonel Mike Hutchinson was traitor. Or it might have had something to do with the adolescent who had spent the entire trip flirting with him.

And despite his non-responsive nature the girl continued to push her luck.

"So, _Colonel_ Jack O'Neill," she was always careful to stress his title, as though relishing the sound of the word, "how do you like our village? Is it not grand? It is the closest one to the Great Circle and one of the largest in the forest. It is from here that the best warriors are produced." She dropped her head in what she thought was a coy manner, staring up through her dark lashes, "and the most beautiful maidens are born."

"Merta!" The sharp voice ringing through the village saved Jack from losing his meager lunch. The girl clinging to his arm immediately stiffened and took three steps back. She turned, a movement that had obviously been practiced, and shot the source of the voice an innocent stare.

"Yes Papa?" Her voice dripped with guilesness tone that comes only with long hours of trial and error.

"Here. Now." The brawny man spoke the words through a clenched jaw. Jack heaved a sigh of internal relief as the girl followed the man's order, finally leaving him alone. He stepped back, surveying the surroundings as the man spoke with Merta in a hushed tone, the angry whispers adding to the tense silence. By the time he finished the girl's face had gone white and tears danced on the edge of eyes. When the man released her arm she dashed up the road, the only sound being a dramatic sob as she vanished around a corner.

The brawny man watched as she left before turning back to the SG members in his town square. "State your business." His voice remained sharp almost to the point of sounding strained. Almost.

The clinking of weapons, swords, daggers, and the occasional bow, echoed through the clearing. Jack kept his hand resting gently against his gun, not overly worried about the locals. Their weapons were all pointed down and Daniel had a way with people.

The archeologist raised his hands. "Greetings. We mean you no harm. We're just looking for a friend of ours." All the weapons raised themselves simultaneously. Jack gripped his gun harder. Teal'c raised an eyebrow; his staff weapon shifting ever so slightly while Captain York eyed the enemy nervously.

Daniel, on the other hand, saw this all as a good sign. "Okay… I'll take it he's here then?"

The brawny speaker shifted his feet. He raised his hand slightly. The weapons lowered themselves to the ground again. "Why is it you wish to know?"

"We're his friends," responded Daniel in a tone that made him sound a bit confused by the very question. "We've been looking for him for days. Can you at least tell us if he's all right?"

The brawny man shifted, hesitant to speak. He looked from the face of one traveler to the next, his face revealing the barest hint of his inner struggle. Finally his eyes settled on back on Daniel. "There is no one here."

"Cut the crap!" Jack took a few steps forward. "We know he's here. We aren't leaving without him. So we can do this the easy way. Or we can do this the hard way." He gave his P90 meaningful tap. "It's your choice."

"Jack!" Daniel swooped in, placing a hand on the Colonel's shoulder and began to whisper furiously. "Jack, you can't really think this is a good idea? Do these people really look like they'll bend to threats?" He waved at the darkening faces of the crowd. "You can't really believe that this best course! We don't even know if they actually have Yugi here!"

The Colonel swatted the hand away. "Oh, he's here."

"Jack, you can't massacre a village based on a hunch!" Catching O'Neill's look Daniel ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Daniel knew that if Jack kept this up someone was going to get killed, and with the way things usually go it was probably going to be him.

Captain York cut in. She could see where things were going and had no desire to join the rest of SG-13. "If I may Colonel-"

"You may not, Captain!" She flinched at his tone but fell back with Teal'c.

Daniel tried again. "Jack. Jack, you can't kill these people."

"Dammit Daniel!" Jack exploded, tearing off his sunglasses. "I'm not going to let a kid die!" His voice dropped to a broken whisper, one that only Daniel could hear. "Not again." But the haunted look in his eye passed in seconds, replaced with steely determination. Jack's attention spun back to the villagers who had watched the exchange. "So?"

"There is no one here."

"I did not spend the last week camping in the rain with my thumb up my ass to have you tell me that the kid isn't here! Now. Where. Is. He?"

The brawny villager's temper rose to meet Jack's. "If he's so important then how did you misplace him to begin with?! How did you allow such harm to befall a child? Why did you leave him alone?"

Daniel interjected. "So he is here?" He shot Jack a look that could only be read as "See? Making progress!" Then the rest of the sentence penetrated. "Wait? Is he okay?"

The villagers, all of them, hissed angrily.

Daniel retreated a step. "I guess not."

"All right. The kid's here. He's ours. We're taking him. Got it?" Jack flashed a patronizing smile.

The spokesman crossed his arms, as though daring Jack to try. From the way he fingered his gun everyone could tell he was tempted. Teal'c adjusted his grip on his staff weapon, his eyes picking the most armed as his target. York discreetly drew her pistol. Daniel gripped his hat. The weapons of the villagers raised and the clinking of metal could be heard in stereo.

Silence and stillness descended, both sides staring at the other with a hunter's eye. The threat of violence hung in the air like the clouds of the stormy week before. Everyone could sense the coming rain of bullets. Daniel was drawing in ragged shallow breaths, sure that not only was he going to die, again, but he was going to do so over a misunderstanding.

"Wait! Please! Come back here!" The teenage voice bounded from one of the side streets, the speaker still invisible to the potential combatants. Jack shifted his feet, the shout cutting clear across his conscience. There were kids here too. Orphaning them would probably fall under the category of "Jackass thing to do." He sighed, feeling the fight rush out of him. In its place it left the all too familiar ache of despair.

Perhaps everybody reacted to the voice, or perhaps they reacted to Jack. Either way weapons once again found themselves lowered. Both groups broke eye contact, instead staring into the alley where another shout was raised.

"Come back here!"

Giadus hissed under his breath. He had thought that at least one of his children had been born with the wisdom of doing what they were told. Clearly his faith in Kaius was somewhat misplaced. He winced as he heard the uneven footsteps approaching, hoping his son was not foolish enough to enter the town square.

It wasn't Kaius who burst into the square.

It was Yugi.

***

GDO-Garage Door Opener.

Arigato-Thank you (informal-ish[I think{maybe}])

Saxuus- It's a game I made up. It's so special that even I don't know the rules. Hence why Yugi is so good at it.

Ahh! I'm never gonna finish this arc! And the next one looks fun... man! *grumbles*


	13. Through the Gate prt 6

Yugi burst into the town square, stumbling as he tried to slow down but his crutch providing no traction against the slick path. The stick flew from his hands, clattering to the ground as he struggled to remain upright, hopping awkwardly on one leg.

Not the entrance he had been going for.

His plight only grew worse as he desperately battled gravity, fighting to remain upright as his arms flailed like a wet bird's wings. But Newton's theories won, dragging the boy to the ground and flinging him back into a mud puddle for his resistance.

Yugi slurred out swears in every language he knew, including Ancient Egyptian and Latin as the cold mud seeped into Kaius's hand me downs. He could feel it sliding into his splints as well as soaking into his hair. Though it soothed the bump now forming on the back if his skull he grimaced. This was going to start itching at any moment.

"Yugi!" He looked up to see the circle of faces that had shouted his name in stereo. Giadus and Kaius stared down at him with matching brown eyes. They didn't look much a like but with their current expressions Yugi could finally see the hints of a family resemblance. Jack and Daniel were also staring down at him, which didn't make much sense because they weren't here.

Firm hands lifting him up begged to differ.

The ground dissolved beneath Yugi, throwing his already scattered mind into further chaos. He must have hit a rock or something on the way down. It was the only way to explain how he was currently deposited in his superior's arms. The world spun as the man's strong hands turned Yugi's head from side to side. The boy had no idea why. Maybe his imagination thought he needed the exercise. Then he felt the hand gently trace the cuts along his jaw line.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Jack snapped the comment. O'Neill could tell that the village spokesman was angered by the comment by the slight tremor running through his jaw line. O'Neill didn't care. It wasn't his job to make nice. It was his job to protect the muddy bundle in his arms.

"彼らは私を手伝った." *

Jack stared at Yugi as though he had grown a new head. "Uh, Daniel? I think he's broken." Jack sounded genuinely worried. Yugi just blinked owlishly at the man.

"You didn't break him, Jack. He's just speaking Japanese."

"Japanese?" Daniel was fairly certain that he could have said Asgard and provoked the same reaction.

"Yes, Jack. Japanese. From Japan."

"And you understand?" Daniel blinked, caught off guard not by the question but by the source. The boy who had followed Yugi into the town square approached him cautiously, his golden eyes peering up at Daniel with an intense curiosity.

"Kaius, hush! Go back to the hut and wait with your sister!" The village leader sounded worried. He took a step forward and placed a restraining hand on his son.

Daniel waved his hand, grateful for the presence of the youth. Kids tended to make O'Neill pause before coming up with rash plans that involved explosions. "It's okay. He's not bothering anyone." He turned his attention back to Yugi. "Yugi?" The Asian's head slowly swiveled towards Daniel. "Yugi, you need to tell me what happened."

"彼らは私を手伝った." He repeated himself insistently.

"Well?" Jack leveled a piercing stare at Daniel.

"He says they helped him."

"And?"

"And I'm working on it, Jack." Daniel promised himself the next time Jack asked him a question he was going to use the most convoluted answer he could to explain. But that would have to wait. He focused his mind on the job at hand. "Yugi, I need to know all of what happened."

The boy looked a little lost. His head had finally cleared enough for him to realize that this was probably actually happening. He had come down when he had heard shouting, especially when he recognized Jack's voice. He didn't want people fighting. And they weren't but Yugi could tell that his explanation was going to determine whether or not the peace held. He had such a headache. Still, he tried to explain.

When he finished Jack looked to Daniel. "So?"

Daniel looked to the villager. "Do you have a doctor, ah, healer that could see him? I think he has a concussion."

"Daniel…" Jack growled in warning. He hated it when Daniel tried to usurp his authority.

"He, ah, said they helped him. After he banged his hands on the Pharaoh's tomb. After he, ah, went to talk to the darkness. Then murmured about something about the darkness going to be in trouble with his grandfather for not answering the phone because he didn't want to talk to the tomb raider." Daniel pushed his glasses higher onto his face. "I think he needs to see a doctor."

"Sir," Captain York ventured out carefully, hoping not to get snapped at again. "He has obviously been here for a while. These people have treated him well. I think we can trust them."

"Indeed O'Neill. They seem quite concerned about his health."

Jack grumbled at the mutiny of his team. "Fine." He turned to the spokesperson that was still clutching at his son. "We won't shoot if you won't."

"Eloquent."

"Shut up, Daniel."

Giadus watched them, his mouth a thoughtful slash. Years of hunting in the forest had given him an eye observing for detail. Small things, like the way Yugi was leaning into instead of away from Jack, how Jack had taken a half step forward, twisting his body so that Yugi was firmly wedged between he and Daniel, how Teal'c had silently moved to the front in case of trouble. Nor was he oblivious to the fingers that had snaked their way to his own, giving a concerned squeeze as his only son peered worriedly into his face.

Giadus pushed himself away from the boy. He crossed his arm over his chest and bowed deep. "I am Giadus, son of Methis, and I offer you welcome. May the forest cradle you."

***

Night had fallen over the small settlement. The primitives carried torches when they moved from building to building, but other than stars it remained dark most of the time.

He was grateful for it.

Not that he actually _needed_ it or anything. His skills were far superior to that. He had managed to remain quiet enough when the scientist had wandered by. The man had come right by his hiding spot too. Close enough that he could have reached out and grabbed the Great Daniel Jackson, the original source of what was turning into a giant fucking mess.

Instead Chesnokov remained quiet, eavesdropping on the doctor's conversation with those left guarding the gate. He considered himself well rewarded for his efforts.

From the report he had learned that the target was injured. Nothing that put his life in direct danger, but there were still enough injuries that everyone wanted a real doctor instead of a tribal medicine woman to examine him. They still weren't sure what had happened. Chesnokov wanted to laugh. He wanted to bark at the madness. He knew how the target had been injured. His question was how did the boy survive something like that. No matter. That was not important. That information was not part of his job. He _would_ acquire the target one way or another then he would go home and retire and be rid of this headache. Maybe he would actually go camping.

But first he needed a plan.

***

"Okay. Explain it again. From the beginning. In English."

Yugi took a deep breath, rolling his fingers into his palms, ignoring the pain that laced his wrist. He let out it out in one slow breeze. He drew in more air then slowly began to explain everything again, trying to keep his voice calm as his mind ran in panicked circles. Jack held up a hand every time Yugi started speaking too fast or when he switched into a language that Jack couldn't understand. Everyone else watch quietly. Yugi could tell that they were mentally preparing questions to fire his way when Jack was done with. Yugi wanted to laugh. They were probably going to ask him the same questions racing through his mind.

Why? Why, why, why. The word echoed liked a curse. Why had Hutchinson betrayed them? Why were there Russians on an alien planet? Why was Yami missing? Yugi wanted to laugh, to scream. He wanted to beat his head against the tree Jack had found, the one splattered with his blood.

"And then I woke up here. The villagers have been taking care of me. They have been very kind. They taught me a new game."

Yugi watched as Jack took off his hat, using it to wipe off his brow. "So you have no memory between hitting the tree and ending up here?"

Yugi shook his head. "There is nothing there. I have no memory of how I came to be here. Giadus-san and his children claim that they found me at the bottom of a cliff, just before the rain started," he added, hoping it would help. Yugi frowned in thought, "Actually, it would be wise for you to speak with him."

"English Yugi."

Yugi blinked at Jack. He blushed furiously as he realized he had slipped into Japanese once again. As he repeated his suggestion, focusing on speaking English, he sent a silent prayer to whatever gods were out there that it was relief causing him to slip up. Relief or the newest bruise on the back of his skull. Either of those as causes as his current problem would be acceptable.

Jack motioned to Daniel, who silently slipped outside the hut in the blink of an eye. Even Yugi could tell that he was itching to speak with the locals. He would find out what Jack wanted as well as more than the archeologists who were playing with broken pottery back on Earth would ever dream of knowing. Teal'c followed Daniel. It was probably a wise decision on his part, especially since Daniel seemed to be prone to near death, or in some cases actual death, experiences whereas the Jaffa seemed to have an immunity to the fate that plagued mere mortals.

"Captain York."

"Yes sir!" The woman saluted promptly. Yugi giggled. She had never been so formal with her team squadron. She was probably trying to impress SG-1. Apparently they were either hero-worshipped or hated by the rest of the base.

"Radio SG-9. General Hammond is going to need to know about this ASAP."

"Yes sir!"

The Yugi and the Colonel were alone. Jack stared up at Yugi. The kid looked like hell warmed over. His face was a patchwork of lime and lemon bruises, scarlet cuts standing out vividly from the damaged skin. His visible pale skin had taken on an unhealthy tinge while his expression, the ever-present smile, looked strained and pinched, as though it had been mounted on his face by hooks. Most startling though was the change in his eyes. They looked faded, the color dulled by the shadows that had taken up residence there.

Worse was the nervousness that Yugi seemed to radiate. He had slipped into Japanese several times while speaking. That itself wasn't worrying. After all it was the kid's home tongue. But the fact that kid had also slipped into not just one but several languages that only Daniel knew was distressing. The boy seemed distracted and that worried Jack. He wanted the kid in Doctor Fraiser's hands as soon as possible.

The real question was how to get him there

***

* "They helped me." That's what it's supposed to say anyway. I have no idea what the pronunciation is and even if I did I think I would have left it like this. After all, that's about what Jack understood. I admit I used online translators to get this (I used a bunch to see if I could get the same answer twice and translate it back.)

AN-Don't hurt me. *hides* Sorry about the lack of updateness. This story isn't on hold. I just managed to get a little lost. I wrote this chapter about six times (all different too!) and still am not completely satisfied with it hence why its so freaking short.

To those who my OCs make wince: I _need _them for plot. And Chesnokov is an awesome OC. He's Russian. What more can I say?

I'll try to update when I can but no promises on frequency. I still know where I want to go but I haven't had an *AHA type type type* moment, so until my brain catches up updates are going to be a bit slow.


End file.
